2019 New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Press Clippings

THE 59TH ANNUAL New York International Antiquarian

Book Fair PARK AVENUE ARMORY MARCH 7-10, 2019

2019PRESS COVERAGE nybookfair.com

NEW YORK ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR PULL QUOTES 2019 “The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is the world’s biggest rare book fair.”

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Noelle Mcelhatton, Antiques Trade Gazette, January 28, 2019

“Specialities include literature, children’s books, philosophy, photography, fashion, medicine and more.”

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Staff Writer, In New York, February 1, 2019

“The much anticipated New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is a mecca for bibliophiles and seekers of the curious and quirky. It is the finest antiquarian book fair in the world, and a must see event for institutions, seasoned connoisseurs and scholars. It has increasingly captivated young collectorswith unique offerings at accessible price points.”

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Staff Writer, Art Fix Daily, February 13, 2019

“The beloved New York International Antiquarian Book Fair has offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.”

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Staff Writer, Fine Books Magazine, February 19, 2019

“Rare books and manuscripts with fascinating history and unconditional guarantee of authenticity.”

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Staff Writer, Fine Books Magazine, February 26, 2019

“A literary treasure trove.”

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Caroline Goldstein, Art Net News, February 28, 2019

“A unique experience, it is the backroom of museums and great private collections. It is the place where museum curators and private collectors seek the finest pieces of their collection.’

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Chadd Scott, Forbes, March 1, 2019

“An astonishing array of rare books, fine art, maps, manuscripts, and ephemera from over 200 American and international dealers.”

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Staff Writer, Fine Books Magazine, March 1, 2019

“Heaven on earth.”

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Staff Writer, The New Criterion, March 4, 2019

“The premier U.S. event for rare books and ephemera.”

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Fred Nicolaus, Business of Home, March 6, 2019

“The New York international Antiquarian Book Fair is a wide-ranging fair that is a vivid reminder of, among many things, the importance of history.”

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Eve M. Kahn, The New York Times, March 7, 2019

“The NYC Antiquarian Book Fair offers a surfeit of important treasures and quirky delights, all testifying to the power of ink on paper.”

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Sarah Funke Butler, Lit Hub, March 8, 2019

“Among the shows not to miss is the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, a celebration where bibliophiles and avid collectors can browse a vast selection of rare books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, letters, first editions and other treasures that include some of the most exciting items for art, architecture, and design lovers.”

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Katherine McGrath, Architectural Digest, March 8, 2019

“There is plenty for the regular reader to love at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair.”

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Staff Writer, Book Post, March 9, 2019

“A veritable cabinet of curiosities, the fair’s 59th edition offerings included selections from 217 exhibitors from around the world— the largest presentation to date.”

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Britt Stigler, WNET, March 11, 2019

“The Antiquarian Book Fair is an astounding collection of book dealers who exhibit not only rare books but antique maps, photographs, autographs, Americana, and even a few toys.”

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Richard Gottlieb, Global Toy News, March 12, 2019

“A paradise for bibliophiles, art lovers and history buffs from all around the world. Whether you are a major Lord of the Rings fan, want to see a bit of history in real life, or are just curious about the history of modern medical practices, this fair delivers to all interests and obsessions.”

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Charlotte Kohlberg, The Knockturnal, March 14, 2019

“It is truly a feast for the eyes. This fair delivers to all interests and obsessions.”

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Charlotte Kohlberg, The Knockturnal, March 14, 2019

March 7, 2019

6 Reasons to Visit the Antiquarian Book Fair

By Eve M. Kahn

A production image for the 1970 film “The Boys in the Band.”

Credit Walter Film

Fans of contemporary art will be crisscrossing Manhattan this weekend, visiting fairs on Midtown’s Far West Side, an East River pier and points in between. One should not live by art alone. Consider this: The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which is running through Sunday at the Park Avenue Armory (which hosted another art fair — the Art Show — just last week).

This weekend visitors to the Armory can review a cinema memorabilia collection that shines a light on L.G.B.T.Q. performers in Hollywood’s early years and a Bible containing details about the tragic fates of slaves on a South Carolina plantation. This wide-ranging fair is a vivid reminder of, among many things, the importance of history and the hardships humans have endured. Here are six highlights from the dealers’ inventory.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/arts/design/antiquarian-book-fair-park-avenue-armory.html?module=inline

BOOTH C26 Walter Reuben Inc. Walter Reuben, who owns an eponymous cinema-memorabilia gallery in West Hollywood, Calif., has a collection of photographs and paperwork about L.G.B.T.Q. performers, directors and writers, and gay-themed productions. The collection (priced at $95,000) contains 1920s and ’30s publicity shots of actors, like William Haines, whose careers came to an abrupt end after they were outed, as well as Elton John in concert regalia in the 1970s and stills from Lily Tomlin’s 1980s films. Mr. Reuben has also acquired photographs, scripts and advertisements for early films and shows with L.G.B.T.Q. characters who were open about their sexuality, including “The Boys in the Band.” Mr. Reuben said he hopes to find a buyer who will keep the archive intact, in order to foster research in a lesser-documented aspect of film history.

BOOTH A18 Geographicus Rare Antique Maps

An example of traditional Vietnamese cartography, dating to the early 19th century. Among other things, it shows the Great Wall of Vietnam, which was rediscovered in 2008 by archaeologists.

Credit Geographicus

A 19th-century linen map ($25,000) marked with French officials’ plans for carving up Vietnam’s central coast is on offer at Geographicus, a map dealer in Brooklyn. In the 1810s, Vietnamese cartographers used black ink on the cloth to outline riverbanks, rice fields, villages, roadways and the serrated perimeter of the Great Wall of Vietnam, which has been uncovered in recent archaeological digs. In the 1890s, French colonists used brown ink to add notations about property borders for potential seizure and subdivision. There’s a sense of foreboding in the contrast between the invaders’ dense lines of inventory notes and the original Vietnamese mapmakers’ flowing land contours.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/arts/design/antiquarian-book-fair-park-avenue-armory.html?module=inline

BOOTH A42 Tamino Autographs

Nijinsky’s signed point shoe, from 1914 .Credit Tamino Autographs

In 1914, the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky signed the insole of a cream-colored leather ballet slipper that he had barely worn. He had just married a Hungarian dancer, Romola de Pulszky, which enraged his former lover, the ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev. A few years after he signed the shoe, Nijinsky’s life and career were derailed by mental illness, and his wife was left to tend to their two young daughters. Tamino Autographs, a dealer based in Manhattan, is offering the footwear ($29,500), which has loose threads along the toe where a sparkling ornament had originally been stitched. Tamino also has a signed copy of Romola’s 1935 biography of her husband ($400); in it, she recalled how, in his prime, his wiry feet had destroyed several pairs of shoes during each ballet performance.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/arts/design/antiquarian-book-fair-park-avenue-armory.html?module=inline

BOOTH A12 Read’Em Again Books

An early 19th-century Bible details some of the tragic fates of slaves in South Carolina.

Credit Read'Em Again Books

American slave owners typically kept minimal records of enslaved people’s lives, aside from listings of births, deaths, sell-offs and escapes. Read’Em Again Books, a dealer in Montclair, Va., has an early 19thcentury Bible ($30,000) in which the Wilson family, owners of a plantation near Darlington, S.C., detailed some of their slaves’ tragic fates. Physicians in the family apparently had coroner-level interest in the subject. A girl named Caroline was fatally injured when she fell under wagon wheels, but with “little injury to bone.” An enslaved man named Stephany died after fracturing his skull “in a fall from the second to the first floor.” The Wilsons’ former plantation has largely disappeared, and it is not known yet whether traces remain of the slaves’ cabins and graves.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/arts/design/antiquarian-book-fair-park-avenue-armory.html?module=inline

BOOTH E25 Schulson Autographs

A 1908 letter written by Nikola Tesla, requesting a 220-volt motor from the engineer Bernard A. Behrend, a close friend.

Credit Schulson Autographs

In the early 1900s, the inventor Nikola Tesla imagined networks of transmission towers that would power millions of pocket-size, wireless communication devices. He was widely mocked for his ideas but kept experimenting. In a 1908 letter now for sale at Schulson Autographs ($19,500), based in New Jersey, he asked a close friend, the engineer Bernard A. Behrend, to send him a 220-volt motor for a machine in progress. (It is not clear which one.) Tesla’s stationery depicts the domed tower that he had just built in Shoreham, N.Y.; it was a financial flop and never activated. Its adjoining laboratory is now being converted into a science center.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/arts/design/antiquarian-book-fair-park-avenue-armory.html?module=inline

BOOTH C7 Whitmore Rare Books

A copy of the National Woman Suffrage Association’s 1876 Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States, which had been folded in a purse for safekeeping.

Credit Whitmore Rare Books

A lightly worn copy of the National Woman Suffrage Association’s 1876 Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States is for sale ($37,500) through Whitmore Rare Books in Pasadena, Calif. No one knows which original owner may have folded it in her purse for safekeeping; a handful of other examples are known to survive in institutional collections. The text warns that “woman’s degraded, helpless position” and disenfranchisement violated America’s founding governmental principles. Activists handed out the flier in Philadelphia during the Centennial Exhibition. At a ceremony in Independence Hall, politicians accepted a copy in “respectful silence,” an eyewitness noted. Among the signatories are familiar suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, as well as the minister Olympia Brown, who lived long enough to legally vote.

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair March 7-10 at the Park Avenue Armory, Manhattan; nyantiquarianbookfair.com.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/arts/design/antiquarian-book-fair-park-avenue-armory.html?module=inline

March 6, 2019

Armory Fair Week: Your Survival Guide

By Roberta Smith

Art fairs are popping up all over the city this year, many in unexpected places, between Chelsea galleries and within a condominium at United Nations Plaza.

Credit Jeff Hinchee

Even if you never go to galleries or museums, you should try an art fair. Expose yourself to art in high doses — and see if it takes.

High doses is what we have now, during Armory Week — the Fleet Week of art fairs — with ten arriving, bringing together an extraordinary concentration of artworks, private dealers and galleries from around the globe and briefly laying siege to the world’s densest art scene. And all but one of these fairs — the International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory — is devoted to contemporary works.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/arts/design/art-fairs-armory-piers-spring-break-independent.html

The confabs play to varied tastes and pocketbooks while ranging in quality from blue-chip to less than nochip — a measure of market, not aesthetic value. They are ensconced all over town and at some odd new locations — including the heart of Chelsea, amid the David Zwirner galleries, and in a condominium at United Nations Plaza. From free to a high of $57 — about the cost of a nice dinner and a good glass of wine in New York — you can sample anywhere from a few scores to a couple of hundred galleries in action, showing works by one or two artists or a selection, including emerging talents gallerists hope will catch on.

What follows is a brief survival guide to art fairs, complete with pointers for looking; etiquette tips for talking to dealers; ways to broach the always-uncomfortable subject of money, and how to dress the part without getting sore feet. As for which fairs to see, read on for the highlights.

Mixed Blessings The rise of fairs as an irresistible force in contemporary art began with the Armory Show in the mid 1990s.

Today they are considered a mixed blessing, detrimental to galleries who have nevertheless come to depend on them — while fairs, in turn, depend on galleries. The frequent refrain is that collectors have been seduced by the one-stop-shopping convenience of fairs, which drains galleries of money, energy and visitors, even if they are selling hand over fist. A fair booth can cost an exhibitor from $15,000 to $50,000, and that doesn’t factor in shipping, hotels or airfare.) Still, the art fair format seems to be infinitely malleable and dealers and artists constantly push back, coming up with new variations. For the rest of us, fairs are an education — repositories, if not floods — of new information regarding galleries, artworks and emerging artists. First time around, they can feel like you’ve jumped into the deep end. Your water wings are your eyes and your heart.

Franklin Williams, “All Important Likeness II” (1975), acrylic and crochet thread on paper, Parker Gallery, at the Independent Art Fair.

Credit via Parker Gallery

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/arts/design/art-fairs-armory-piers-spring-break-independent.html

Should I Buy Art Here?

Everyone should live with art they love and love can happen at art fairs, even if they are the aesthetic equivalent of speed-dating. Before you consider buying, look and look deeply. You can’t put things on hold for long, and, unlike buying at an auction, you won’t have time to consult an expert or someone you trust. A reputable gallery will let you see the provenance — if the work has one. Then, if you covet something and can afford it, take the plunge.

Lack of labels for the artworks can indicate a gallery’s decision that their booth looks better without them.

Sometimes dealers do this out of a desire to meet potential clients and answer their questions directly. Note to dealers: Even the artists’ names penciled on the wall would help speed up the flow of information and visitors.

Fairs provide access to dealers and, in some cases, artists themselves, but should be seen as an introductory experience, a way to start going to galleries.

How Do I Survive the Tumult?

Wear comfortable shoes and clothes, preferably. Bring water and snacks. It’s never fun to wait in line and then have to pay relatively high prices.

Get there in the morning before the crowds reach fever pitch.

Keep expressions of jaded world-weariness off your face, and avoid the “Huh? Is this art, too?” look. Do not ask prices unless you are seriously interested in buying. As for that other question — “Will this artwork increase in value?” — a good dealer should answer “I don’t know” and maybe, “That’s not a reason to buy.”

The Armory Show The mother of them all, with modern as well as contemporary art, this fair is on the upswing. Established in the Gramercy Hotel in 1994, it has occupied Pier 92 and 94 on the Hudson River since 2001. This year it has added Pier 90 after the city determined structural weakness had rendered Pier 92 mostly unusable. In the early 2010s, the Armory expanded and the fair’s quality dipped. But it’s trying to rise again, learning from, while also competing with, the younger Frieze Art Fair (in May). The Armory has cut back in the past few years from 300 galleries to this year’s 198, representing 33 countries. It has also been beefing up its restaurants and snack bars, programming and lounge options. Going all out for its 25th anniversary, it has initiated the Gramercy International Prize, which supports a “young and pioneering” New York gallery that has not yet participated in the fair. The inaugural prize — a booth at no cost — went to the gallery Ramiken (originally known as Ramiken Crucible), returning to New York after a brief sojourn in Los Angeles.

At $52 to $57, the Armory’s entrance fee is the most expensive. What we get for the price is a world unto itself, a place where it is hoped a visitor will spend an entire day — and more money. March 6-10; on 12th Avenue, from West 50th Street to West 55th Street; thearmoryshow.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/arts/design/art-fairs-armory-piers-spring-break-independent.html

The Spring/Break Art Show

Jeff Bliumis’s “Don’t Bite” (2019), in a solo show curated by Andres Serrano at the Spring/Break Art Show.

Credit Jeff Bliumis

Founded in 2009, this curator-driven fair has been, as its name suggests, the youngest, most raucous and most egalitarian of the New York fairs. Spring/Break is also essentially nomadic, known for inhabiting unconventionally dilapidated spaces like the high-ceilinged offices in the James A. Farley Building (formerly the General Post Office). This year’s location, on the second floor of 866 United Nations Plaza, is smaller than usual, which has forced Spring/Break to be more selective, downsizing to around 90 participants from 140 last year. While a few commercial galleries participate, most of Spring/Break is devoted emerging artists who have been proposed by other artists or independent curators. This writer managed a sneak peek on Monday, which confirmed that the fair remains the place to find new art. This year’s theme is “Fact and Fiction,” which makes sense given the rising tide of representational art. $20; March 511; springbreakartshow.com The Independent Art Fair There is more than one way to break the art fair mold, and the suave and sometimes painfully hip Independent is an example. Elegantly designed with walls but no booths at 50 Varick Street in TriBeCa, it has around 60 participants and a clubby atmosphere. Inclusion is a form of anointment. A theme on the Independent’s lineup is a representational (and conservative) one that departs considerably from its characteristic cool: “Surrealism and Hyperrealism Moment.” The Independent could use more juice, but leap in. $29; March 7-10 (opens to public March 8); independenthq.com.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/arts/design/art-fairs-armory-piers-spring-break-independent.html

Plan B

Soo-Kyoung Lee’s “Mauve bleu,” 2013, acrylic on canvas, at the Plan B/Volta art fair.

Credit Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris; via Plan B

Formerly known as Volta New York, this sudden pop-up fair is the feel-good story of New York’s 2019 fair cycle. It coalesced quickly when Volta, usually at Pier 90, was forced to give its space to the inhabitants of the Armory Show’s Pier 92 after the city determined that pier was unsafe. The collector Peter Hort, joined by David Zwirner and Quang Bao of the 1969 Gallery on the Lower East Side, spearheaded a rescue mission, and Plan B emerged, with about 30 Volta participants invited to Mr. Zwirner’s galleries at 525 West 19th Street and the building owned by the Paula Cooper Gallery at 534 West 21st. And who knows, Mr. Hort and company may have inadvertently invented a new model: an art fair surrounded by scores of art galleries. Free; March 6-9; no website Art on Paper With around 100 galleries, this is the largest of the Armory Week fairs to offer free admission — a compensation for its relatively remote location, the East River pier previously used by NADA (Pier 36, 299 South Street). Five years old, it is devoted to all things paper: from dealers in drawings, prints and occasionally photographs to large paper-based installations. These, and the orderly booths and carpeted aisles, suggest a mini Armory Show. (This year it is sheltering nine galleries from Volta.) Free; March 7-10 (opens to public March 8); thepaperfair.com/ny Scope Art Fair Scope is a veteran midlevel fair that caters to galleries with little or no fair experience. It will present 57 galleries at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 West 18th Street) mostly from Europe and the United States. It is a big-hearted fair, using travel grants and program awards to lure some participants. $25; March 7-10 (opens to public March 8); scope-art.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/arts/design/art-fairs-armory-piers-spring-break-independent.html

The New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA)

Greg Breda’s “The Letters,” acrylic on vellum, at NADA New York Gallery Open, Patron Gallery.

Credit Greg Breda and Patron Gallery

A staple of Armory Week, NADA has suspended its New York fair this year, opting for what it calls a “gallery open.” Sixty-three local member galleries are pursuing business and exhibitions at their usual addresses; NADA is providing maps showing locations, listing shows and also organizing a week’s worth of guided tours and artists’ talks. If art fairs are not for you, this is a good way to discover some of the best small and midsize galleries, especially on the Lower East Side, where more than two-thirds are clustered. Free; March 4-10; newartdealers.org Clio Art Fair Billing itself as the “Anti-Fair for Independent Artists,” CLIO, founded in 2014, has mostly eliminated dealers and works directly with artists of all ages from around the world who have no New York representation. This year it will occupy a ground floor space on the fringes of Chelsea: 550 West 29th Street.

It charges artists by the amount of wall or floor space they use, and without booths, resembles an exhibition.

It is almost guaranteed that this crowded presentation will be full of new names, which doesn’t necessarily mean the work will look new. Free on Friday, $18 on Saturday and Sunday; March 7-10 (opens to public March 8); clioartfair.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/arts/design/art-fairs-armory-piers-spring-break-independent.html

Salon Zürcher This may be New York’s tiniest and longest-running art fair. Now 21 years old, it occupies a single NoHo gallery (33 Bleecker Street) whose modest space exudes an old-time unapologetic funkiness. This year Zürcher will host three European galleries and work by two New York artists. It is a fair for the fair-phobic or enthusiasts not fond of walking. There is always something here — maybe just one thing — that makes you glad you visited. Free; March 4-10; galeriezurcher.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/arts/design/art-fairs-armory-piers-spring-break-independent.html

March 12, 2019

Nobody Wants Your Old Books, Or Do They?

By David Seideman

Two eager Yale students were skunked at the book fair, but had a good time.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

Last March, Heritage Auctions sold a signed and inscribed first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby from 1925 for $162,500 at a rare book sale in New York City.

On Sunday, I took a break from my regular sports collectibles beat and spent two-and-a-half hours at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair’s Discovery Day. The hosts invited guests to “bring up to five treasures to be evaluated by our experts.” This is the book world’s annual version of the Antiques Roadshow.

A few of the 100 book owners on line carried small treasures, but the rest didn’t cover the fair’s $25 admission cost. I asked two dealers what the odds are of them striking pay dirt during their house calls to appraise personal collections. While one said the chances are one out of 10, another thought it’s more like one out of a 1,000.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/12/nobody-wants-your-old-books-or-do-they/#5f8749e5fe23

Heritage's valuable first edition.

PHOTO BY HERITAGE AUCTIONS.

Books are beautiful things and among humankind’s greatest inventions. At the fair, I admired everything from an early complete edition of Shakespeare’s plays ($500,0000) from the 1600s to a stunning, outsized 12-page, accordion style children’s book illustrating Noah’s Ark, from 1925 ($2,750).

The bar is very high for rare and valuable books.

“Like other pieces of art that are sold as commodities, over the centuries books have been balanced precariously between ‘sacred vessels of Western culture’ and ‘show me the money!’” writes Rebecca Romney, author of Printer’s Error, a fascinating history of books, and an expert on the hit TV show Pawn Stars, who was set up as a dealer at the book fair for Honey & Wax booksellers.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/12/nobody-wants-your-old-books-or-do-they/#5f8749e5fe23

Guests on Discovery Day lined up.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

Here are tips from the fair’s panel of rotating appraisers to help determine whether your library contains any treasures.

No Demand *Beware of book club editions. Often mistaken for first editions, the literary equivalents of rookie sports cards, they lack collectible value. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news with these,” Sunday Steinkirchner, coowner of B & B Rare Books and a former Forbes contributor told me. *Forget family bibles, almanacs, and encyclopedias. There is virtually no market for them. Bibles are quite common because families passed them down as sacred heirlooms. Encyclopedias and almanacs were disposable, and still are.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/12/nobody-wants-your-old-books-or-do-they/#5f8749e5fe23

The supremely patient Sunday Steinkirchner.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

*Almost anything printed after the 1970s. The Internet flooded the market, causing a crash. *First editions missing their dust jackets. Initially popularized in the 20th century’s first and second decades, book covers cannot only be artistic masterpieces, such as The Great Gatsby cover, they are the front door to the work inside. A dust jacket’s condition— such as tears and creases— is as crucial to value as any collectibles, whether they be baseball cards or comic books. The absence of one is usually a deal-breaker. *Forged signed books. A guest brought a Stephen King book she purchased at a thrift shop which featured a phony signature of the perennial bestselling author. A book with a genuine autograph seldom ends up in a donation pile. *Covers highlighting prizes. A copy of Larry McMurtry’s monster bestseller Lonesome Dove which showed up celebrated his Pulitzer Prize. “That would have been presumptuous to put on a first edition,” explained Joshua Mann, co-owner of B & B Rare Books because prizes are awarded much later in the printings. Likewise a women shared the children’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, with a gold Caldecott Medal sticker affixed to it.

IN DEMAND Inscribed first editions by famous authors. The Short Stories by John Steinbeck with an inscription was worth $1,000-$1,500, though his more famous works, such as Grapes of Wrath or East of Eden, would command substantially more. An example of Kurt Vonnegut’s essay collection, Man Without a Country, was appraised for $1,500 because it also included a self-caricature. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/12/nobody-wants-your-old-books-or-do-they/#5f8749e5fe23

The valuable Vonnegut book with a self-caricature.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

Inscriptions with content. A copy of Betty Friedan’s 1963 trail-blazing The Feminine Mystique featured hand-written, inspiring sentiments about the cause. Although it was an eight printing, the long inscription lifted the value to about $400. Personalized inscriptions actually add to books’ value because they show provenance, Mann said. That’s the opposite of sports where they almost always devalue autographs.

Historic atlases. The appraisal event’s home run was an 1848 world atlas with bright, hand-drawn maps of all the states and the far corners of the earth ($3,000). The appraiser searched for Texas, which entered the union three years earlier, because “Texana” collectors pay big money for rare artifacts from their beloved state.

Books with backstories. Copies from the 19th and 18th centuries owned by slaves or women carry a premium, according to Heather O’Donnell, co-owner of Honey & Wax bookseller.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/12/nobody-wants-your-old-books-or-do-they/#5f8749e5fe23

O'Donnell of Honey & Wax booksellers.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

Books on domestic themes. O’Donnell called this category “hot,” as well. Look for antiquarian books on cooking, cocktail recipes, training of household servants and decorating homes and manors. # To check the value of your books, go abebooks.com or bookfinder.com. You can also sell on these sites or on eBay. Dealers pay immediately, usually about one-third of the retail price. The fair has a lengthy list of dealers in addition to Honey & Wax and B & B Rare Books. Be sure to check out the fields they specialize in. And be prepared to send detailed lists and photos.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/12/nobody-wants-your-old-books-or-do-they/#5f8749e5fe23

March 1, 2019

Highlights Of Japanese Culture, New And Old, On View In Los Angeles And New York

By Chadd Scott

Naoko Urasawa, "20th Century Boys." JAPAN HOUSE LOS ANGELES

Manga accounts for more than 25% of sales on all published material in Japan. JAPAN HOUSE holds as its mission bringing the best of Japanese culture to the world. Naoki Urasawa connects the two during This is MANGA – the Art of NAOKI URASAWA, an exhibit at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles through March 28.

Manga are Japanese graphic novels, the popularity of which cut across all demographics in Japan where the storytelling-rich art form was created. Developed in the immediate aftermath of World War II and initially aimed primarily at children, manga has matured to appeal to all audiences, now encompassing genres as varied as cinema–action, comedy, romance, drama and everything in between.

Cartoons, yes, but their creation is more difficult than it may appear.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2019/03/01/highlights-of-japanese-culture-new-and-old-on-view-in-losangeles-and-new-york/#7b23de6d48a1

“I think there is a discrepancy in perception when it comes to what manga is to me and what manga is to the general public,” Urasawa said.

One of the reasons why I draw manga is to bridge that gap by trying to let people know how I perceive manga.

Manga can be misunderstood and some people may think that it is simple and easy to create them because of its pop and casual nature. By showing these original drawings and manuscripts, I hope the visitors can understand the depth of work involved in the creative process.”

Manga’s artistic foundation dates back to 19th century Japan where a variety of visual art styles flourished in urban centers including ukiyoe (woodblock prints), kusazōshi (picture books) and kamishibai (paper theater).

Like present day manga, these print formats depicted a variety of stories and genres, appealing to all members of society.

“These vibrant, populist graphic arts cultures developed independently from the notion of ‘high art,’” Trast Howard, Senior Curator, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, said. “It is this lack of distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art in Japanese society that forged the path for the development of manga in later decades. Furthermore, the lack of hierarchy enabled manga artists to see the expanse of potential in their field and to create ambitious works with political, personal, and philosophical elements.”

“This is MANGA – The Art of NAOKI URASAWA,” exhibition at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles.PHOTO BY RYAN MILLER/JAPAN HOUSE LOS ANGELES

Manga’s popularity in Japan didn’t explode, however, until it began to more closely mirror and inspect the nation’s spirit and outlook according to Howard.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2019/03/01/highlights-of-japanese-culture-new-and-old-on-view-in-losangeles-and-new-york/#7b23de6d48a1

During the late 1950s, a new scene of artists emerged with manga that was more mature and challenging. This new genre was called gekiga (‘dramatic pictures’) and reflected growing feelings of disillusionment with the direction of Japanese society in the midst of the social change encountered during the post-war period. Its creators sought to use sensationalist drawings to capture the eye and communicate their message, which often asked readers to examine the poor living conditions and desperation of those excluded from the economic reconstruction and subsequent boom. In many senses, this medium and realist narrative was the opposite of the more escapist mainstream manga.”

Urasawa’s stories are aimed at adult readers, taking place in locations across the globe and reflecting the Japanese interest in international culture and travel.

“Urasawa’s work also communicates a certain humanism, questioning violence as a means to end conflict and valuing human life above all else,” Howard said. “These are qualities that have become ingrained in Japanese society after their experiences and reactions as a nation during the events of the 20th century.”

With work published in over 20 countries and more than 125 million copies of his manga in circulation in Japan alone, Urasawa is considered a modern master of the art form.

“This is MANGA – The Art of NAOKI URASAWA,” exhibition opening at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles.PHOTO BY RYAN MILLER/JAPAN HOUSE LOS ANGELES

“Naoki Urasawa is considered a leader in both the artistic and narrative aspects of manga development with a unique approach to panel layout and cinematic sense of framing and rhythm, but even more so, he is celebrated as a true master of character design,” Lisa Nakanouchi, Senior Public Relations and Marketing Manager, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, said. “Each of his works hosts a wide roster of distinct, fully-rendered personas.

His instantly recognizable faces come to life on the page with a wide range of expressions. In this way, Urasawa defies convention to depict the diversity and sensitivity of the human race through his two-dimensional drawings.”

Urasawa wants visitors to do more than merely look when they visit the show. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2019/03/01/highlights-of-japanese-culture-new-and-old-on-view-in-losangeles-and-new-york/#7b23de6d48a1

I am hoping that manga enthusiasts and those who want to become manga artists will be inspired and feel the urge to draw, upon seeing this exhibition. I, myself, have felt motivated and fueled by looking at original drawings and manuscripts drawn by other people, especially my predecessors, so now I am hoping that I can be the one motivating the younger generation. Previous exhibit visitors have shared stories on how they started to draw immediately after they saw my work, and this type of story makes me truly happy.”

Three thousand miles across the country and over 100 years back in time another example of Japanese culture goes on display–and on sale. Paris’ Librairie le Feu Follet takes a historic collection of early Japanese photographic imagestaken by Felice Beato to the 59th edition of the New York Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Ave Armory March 7-10.

Known as the first photographer to devote himself entirely to photographing in Asia and the Near East, Beato was also one of the first war photographers, photographing the Second Opium War. His photographs were, for decades, the only depictions of Eastern life known to the Western world.

“It is thanks to these photographs that Westerners discovered traditional Japan, that was until this date closed to foreigners,” Grégory Bacou, an associate at Librairie le Feu Follet said. “They are also the last testimonies of a traditional culture which disappeared with the arrival of Europeans on the island.”

The superb original photograph album, the first published in Japan at the start of the Meiji period, contains 99 large format photographs (over 8-by-10 inches), all full-length portraits, printed during the period on albumen paper.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2019/03/01/highlights-of-japanese-culture-new-and-old-on-view-in-losangeles-and-new-york/#7b23de6d48a1

Felice Beato, "Native types," Photograph Album COURTESY OF LIBRAIRIE LE FEU FOLLET

Additional period artistic flourish was given each photo.

“These photographs taken by Beato were then handed to painters who worked in his workshop,” Bacou said.

“The artists would apply watercolor on the photographs by hand using traditional Japanese painting techniques.

Therefore, several photographs are enriched with real miniatures (fans, flowers, fabrics).”

Librairie le Feu Follet is not aware of another copy in as good a condition or as complete as the one it is putting up for sale anywhere in Europe or in the United States outside of a copy possessed by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

If you’ve never attended a book fair, Bacou says you are missing out.

The Fair is truly a unique experience because it is the backroom of museums and great private collections.

Visitors will be the first to discover future museum pieces. The Fair is indeed a place where curators of the greatest museums and universities as well as private collectors seek the finest pieces of their collections. Some objects like this Beato album are almost never displayed due to their fragility and rarity.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2019/03/01/highlights-of-japanese-culture-new-and-old-on-view-in-losangeles-and-new-york/#7b23de6d48a1

March 8, 2019

From Shakespeare to Tolkien, Treasures From the NYC Antiquarian Book Fair

By Sarah Funke Butler A block-long drill hall mustering 200+ antiquarian book dealers from around the world can be daunting— 55,000 square feet of back-to-back booths, ranging in feel from friendly book-shops to mini-museums, from tiny archeological digs to traveling houses of worship. What they have in common? A surfeit of important treasures and quirky delights, all testifying to the power of ink on paper.

The 59th New York Antiquarian Book Fair of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) opened last night at the Park Avenue Armory, and runs through Sunday. Below is a sampling of items sure to surprise, intrigue and impress—just a few of thousands.

To begin at the beginning: If you’ve been pining for a Gutenberg Bible, this weekend you can console yourself with the next best thing: Catholicon by Johannes Balbus, the second of three printings executed in Mainz by Gutenberg’s protégé Peter Schoeffer, ca. 1469 ($600,000.; Liber Antiquus, Chevy Chase, MD).

Catholicon—a 13th-century Latin dictionary used for Biblical interpretation—was one of the first books printed using Gutenberg’s recently invented movable type, and this volume showcases Gutenberg’s “other great innovation”—the casting of type in line-pairs. This is the second of three printings of the Catholicon, which boasts the first book to declare the city of printing, and the first to discuss the invention of movable type: “This excellent book, Catholicon . . . has been brought to completion . . . not by means of reed, stylus, or quill, but with the miraculous concurrence of punches and types cast in moulds . . .”

Once a book is printed, how it is collected, bound, read and preserved can inform our view of the text. This 17th-century DIY Assemblage of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries—including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Julius Caesar by the Bard, as well as 8 titles by other authors with whom you might be less familiar ($200,000; Maggs Bros., London)—is truly fascinating and a rare survival from this period. These plays, issued individually and selected and bound by their reader, are compiled into a volume offering us one version of Shakespeare’s evolving canon. There are very few data points this early, as most such volumes have been broken up and separately preserved or even reconfigured into different later anthologies. It is notable that in many of these plays women appear in the cast lists for the first time since their composition.

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

So-called “association copies”—volumes signed, inscribed, or annotated or from libraries—also show books in use, testifying to important relationships and intellectual engagement. One such volume is Raymond Chandler’s copy of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) ($6500; Honey & Wax Booksellers). This first American edition of Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece bears Chandler’s ownership stamp, “Raymond Chandler / 6005 Camino de la Costa / La Jolla, California” and, as was common with Chandler’s book, bears a date stamped in black beneath: “Jul 9 1949.” Chandler moved to the house on Camino de la Costa in La Jolla in 1946; it is there that he would write The Long Goodbye and Little Sister while under contract at Paramount as a screenwriter.

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

Chandler read 1984 almost immediately upon publication, telling his agent, Carl Brandt: “[I]f you were to consider Orwell’s 1984 purely as a piece of fiction you could not rate it very high. It has no magic, the scenes are only passably well handled, the characters have very little personality; in short it is no better written, artistically speaking, than a good solid English detective story. But the political thought is something else again and where he writes as a critic and interpreter of ideas rather than of people or emotions he is wonderful” (July 22, 1949). The same year Chandler read Nineteen Eighty-Four Orwell recorded reading The Little Sister.

Though we can trace no record of his opinion, that he retained the copy after reading it is telling.

Among the more moving items at the Fair this year is this unpublished, working alternative manuscript material from Lettre à un otage by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (New York, 1942; $10,000; Le Feu Follet, Paris). Lettre a un otage began as a preface to a novel by Saint-Exupéry’s dear friend, Leon Werth, to whom he had dedicated Le Petit Prince. These pages include previously unknown and heavily revised versions of text, including this variation: “The fracturing of the modern world draws us into a dark time where there are no longer any obvious or universal formulas. The problems are incoherent, the solutions irreconcilable. The different conciliations do not satisfy. Yesterday’s truth is dead. Today’s is yet to be created and each one holds only a portion of the truth . . .” Then, Saint-Exupéry effected a delay in the novel’s publication, instead bringing out his essay on its own. In these pages we learn why: He feared Nazi retaliation against Werth, then living in Occupied France.

This is the last work published before Saint-Exupéry’s disappearance.

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

This memorial pamphlet for executed Chinese feminist revolutionary Qiu Jin was cheaply published in Shanghai and discreetly circulated in 1907 after her execution. This one bears a 1922 “paid” stamp of a San Francisco Chinese grocer, testifying to its global reach. ($20,000, Honey & Wax Booksellers). It’s one of only two documented copies—the other is in China.

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

An advocate of female education and women’s rights, a writer, publisher and orator, Qiu Jin (1875-1907) was ultimately captured for her work with an underground organization, tortured, and beheaded. Heather O’Donnell of Honey & Wax Booksellers notes, “This 1907 pamphlet is one of the earliest examples of an attempt to shape her legacy, including excerpts from her writings and tributes by others; the printer ran an exceptional risk in producing this memorial before the revolution.” Providing a bit of context, “Sun Yat-Sen’s revolutionary party, of which Qiu Jin was the first female member, would finally overthrow the Qing Dynasty in 1911: Sun Yat-Sen’s wife described Qiu Jin as ‘one of the noblest martyrs of the revolution.’ Today, she remains a national hero, central to modern China’s vision of itself.” She died at the age of 32.

In two 1963 letters by JRR Tolkien ($48,000, Manhattan Rare Books, NYC), the man who authored several full languages for use in his fiction discusses the need, in some cases, to take language at face value.

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

There is no shortage of Tolkien at the Fair this year. These two 1963 letters are especially fascinating for their insight into Tolkien’s thoughts on The Lord of the Rings. In the first (brief, typed) letter, Tolkien rejects allegorical interpretations of The Lord of the Rings and admits feeling sympathy for Gollum. In the second, for some reasons inspired to revisit the subject, Tolkien writes four longhand pages in which he again addresses the ideas of allegory and symbolism; explains the poetry, the religious strains, Gollum’s repentance, and the origin of other characters; suggests a sequel; and discusses his motivation for writing the book to begin with.

“I merely tried to write a story that would be ‘exciting’ and readable, and give me a scope for my personal pleasure in history, languages, and ‘landscape,’” he wrote.

In Gustave Eiffel’s Original Drawings for the Statue of Liberty (1880 to 1883), you can see what’s behind the creation of one of the greatest symbols in modern history ($1.5MM, Barry Lawrence Ruderman).

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

These are all the extant original drawings, notes, and blueprints for the Statue of Liberty, directly from the archive of the Établissements Eiffel in Paris. Both the statue’s base designer Richard Morris Hunt’s set of 11 blueprints, now at the Library of Congress, and the artist Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s set of 10 blueprints, derived from this collection of original material (all except one image). From actual nuts and bolts, to calculations of wind resistance, to broader design issues, we see the mind, math, and pen at work behind Lady Liberty.

This charming menu from the Midwinter (1908) Feast of Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition crew at their Winter Quarters, Cape Royds (1909; $20,000, Jonkers Rare Books, Oxfordshire, England) was printed and bound by members of the crew.

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

The printing equipment and training was provided to Shackleton’s explorer-zoologist crew by a London printer. Shackleton noted in The Heart of the Antarctic: “Joyce and Wild had been given instruction in the art of type-setting and printing, Marston being taught in etching and lithography”. After honing their skills on this menu project, they moved on to the 120-page Aurora Australis, considered “the primary incunabulum of the Antarctic” (Books On Ice), between April and July 1908. These were the only two printed works prepared at the press at Cape Royds during the Nimrod expedition.

This copy belonged to William Charles Roberts, who was both cook and assistant zoologist, leaving him wellpositioned to devise such treats as turtle soup, penguin patties, seal cutlets and roast reindeer. Food-historian Micki Myers comments, “They didn’t mess about. Note the not accidental or frivolous addition of black currant jelly with the roast reindeer: apart from a berry jelly being a traditional accompaniment to venison (pairing the meat with what that meat used to eat when alive, as per tradition) it provides an essential whallop of vitamin C. Lingonberry or redcurrant would have been more apt for reindeer—but blackcurrant contains more vitamin C. And this before vitamin C had been discovered.”

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

Philanthropist and social reformer Alice Rowland Hart was a force for change in a number of arenas – medicine, education, women’s rights, labor, crafts, immigration, philanthropy, the Donegal Industrial Fund, the Donegal Famine Fund, the Celtic Revival and more.

This trove of over 200 letters between 1872 and 1923 testifies to the range and efficacy of her work, coming as they do from women and men who were leaders in their fields – Octavia Hill (co-founder of the National Trust), Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Sophie Willock Bryant and Louise Whitfield Carnegie, to name a handful.

In the letters from Sophia Jex-Blake, the first female doctor in Scotland and one of the ‘Edinburgh Seven’ campaigning for women’s access to university education encourages Hart to let go of her plan to work as a nurse and instead to undergo proper medical training. Letters come too from businessmen, architects, politicians, merchants, artists, Irish campaigners, and more. (Deborah Coltham Rare Books and Alembic Rare Books, 3800 pounds)

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

To end on, without judging a book by its cover, let’s at least appreciate some covers, in this painstakingly assembled collection of 1928-1932 dust-jackets by “The Picasso of Posters,” E. McKnight Kauffer ($20,000, Bas Books, London).

Montana-born Kauffer studied in Paris and settled in London in 1914 until the outbreak of World War II. These jackets date to the early peak of his career, when he was known in England as “The Poster King” and the mastermind behind the iconic work commissioned for the London Underground. When British publisher Victor Gollancz opened his firm he commissioned eighteen such covers from Kauffer, before turning to his uniform signature plain yellow jackets. In this collection are eight created for Gollancz, and four for the Doubleday Crime Club. Kauffer and his wife returned to the United States in 1940, and despite a one-man show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1937, and jacket-design work for Random House and others, as well as posters for American Airlines, he wrestled, finding neither artistic freedom nor commercial success. You are unlikely to come across so many striking examples of these innovative covers all in one place anywhere else.

https://lithub.com/from-shakespeare-to-tolkien-treasures-from-the-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair/

March 11, 2019

Treasures of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

By Britt Stigler

Visitors to the Park Avenue Armory‘s Wade Thompson Drill Hall this weekend found the vast space transformed into a veritable cabinet of curiosities thanks to the arrival of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

The fair, which marked its 59th anniversary this year, brings together bibliophiles, scholars and browsers for a weekend packed with rare books, manuscripts, miniatures, print ephemera, historical documents, letters and more. This year’s offerings included selections from 217 exhibitors from around the world — the fair’s largest presentation to date.

Prior to the fair’s opening on Thursday, organizers highlighted several items, including a handsome set of the Complete Writings of Rudyard Kipling, signed by the author; a signed letter from Marie Curie; and “The Book-Case of Knowledge,” a complete set of miniature volumes, all held in a wooden box made to mimic a gentleman’s library.

Still, perhaps even more impressive than the fine bindings and pristine collections, all of which abound, are the stories behind each of the items so carefully curated by exhibitors. Here are some of our favorite items from this year’s fair. https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

“A Chaucer A.B.C.,” with letters illuminated by Lucia Joyce. Honey & Wax Booksellers.

“A Chaucer A.B.C.,” with letters illuminated by Lucia Joyce. Honey & Wax Booksellers.

Photo: Britt Stigler.

A collaboration between James Joyce and his daughter Lycia Joyce, “A Chaucer A.B.C.” was born from Joyce’s attempts to deal with his daughter’s plummet into schizophrenia, which began in her early 20s. The copy on display at the fair represents one of only 300 copies of the book, created as a fine-press edition at Joyce’s own expense.

“It’s this incredible testimony to a lot of different things. To James Joyce’s love for his daughter, yes. To her artistic creation, which was real. She was an incredibly creative person even as she was becoming deranged.

It was something that sort of kept her together. To the connection between Chaucer and the world of illuminated manuscripts, which is huge in Ireland,” said Heather O’Donnell of Honey & Wax Booksellers.

“There were only 300 copies printed. He did it at his own expense; he dropped his friends who refused to subscribe to it, because he felt that they weren’t loyal to his daughter.”

https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

Original photograph of Ernest Hemingway, inscribed to Adolphe Lévêque. Rare Books Le Feu Follet.

Original photograph of Ernest Hemingway, inscribed to Adolphe Lévêque. Rare Books Le Feu Follet.

Photo: Britt Stigler.

This photograph, taken while filming the cinematic adaptation of “The Old Man and the Sea,” depicts Ernest Hemingway holding a freshly caught marlin. The real draw to the snapshot, though, is that it was originally sent to Adolphe Lévêque, a humble French bartender who served Hemingway on the luxury ocean liner SS Îlede-France.

https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

Miniature octagonal Koran, circa 1875, with text written in gold. Bromer Booksellers & Gallery.

Miniature octagonal Koran, circa 1875, with text written in gold. Bromer Booksellers & Gallery.

Photo: Britt Stigler.

Written in gold, this miniature Koran was a darling of the fair and a recent acquisition by Boston’s Bromer Booksellers & Gallery.

https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

“Q.R.V.,” Edward Gorey, cover designed by Brother Edgard Claes. Bromer Booksellers & Gallery.

“Q.R.V.,” Edward Gorey, cover designed by Brother Edgard Claes. Bromer Booksellers & Gallery.

Photo: Britt Stigler.

Also at the Bromer Booksellers & Gallery is a rare, one-of-a-kind binding from Brother Edgard Claes, who uses poly-carbonate boards airbrushed with automotive paint. The metallic casing encloses Edward Gorey’s “Q.R.V.” and is finished off by a snakeskin spine. The miniature, complete with Gorey’s 29 illustrations and rhyming couplets, is one of 110 hand-colored copies.

https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

“The Shipwreck: A Poem,” by William Falconer. Morocco jeweled binding by Sangorski & Sutcliffe.

Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Medieval Manuscripts.

“The Shipwreck: A Poem,” by William Falconer. Morocco jeweled binding by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Medieval Manuscripts.

Photo: Britt Stigler.

This Edwardian era binding by Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe (known for their ornate designs) features an elaborate menagerie of intricate inlays, detailed leather tooling and inset gems. The nautical theme of the book’s jeweled cover, which depicts seaweed, scallops, netting and rope, reflects the contents of William Falconer’s poem.

https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

“History of the Indian tribes of North America,” by Thomas Loraine McKenney and James Hall.

Maggs Bros. Ltd.: Rare Books and Manuscripts.

“History of the Indian tribes of North America,” by Thomas Loraine McKenney and James Hall. Maggs Bros. Ltd.: Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Photo: Britt Stigler.

This work, titled (in full) “History of the Indian tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs. Embellished with one hundred and twenty portraits, from the Indian gallery in the Department of war, at Washington,” was published from 1836 to 1844 and featured biographies and portraits of Native American leaders (many of the portraits were painted by celebrated portraitist Charles Bird King). The copy above is bound in a striking red and gold design.

https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

“The Canterbury Tales,” Geoffrey Chaucer. Binding circa 1561. Whitmore Rare Books.

“The Canterbury Tales,” Geoffrey Chaucer. Binding circa 1561. Whitmore Rare Books.

Photo: Britt Stigler.

Widely regarded as his most famous text, Chaucer’s “The Cantebury Tales” finds a cozy home in this 1561 leather bound edition, complete with two metal clasps.

https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

Letter-Case embroidered with straw. Mix-18th century. Musinsky Rare Books.

Letter-Case embroidered with straw. Mix-18th century. Musinsky Rare Books.

Photo: Britt Stigler.

This petite pocketbook from the mid-18th century is a rare example of straw embroidery and was most likely used as a woman’s letter-case. The dealer’s description notes that “straw marquetry and straw embroidery seem to have been associated early on with nuns’ handiwork,” which included “secular objects sold outside the convent.”

https://allarts.wliw.org/2019/03/treasures-of-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

March 8, 2019

8 Treasures at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair

By Katherine McGrath The fair features a fascinating array of rare books, maps, manuscripts, first editions, and other materials

Photo by Spencer Platt. Image courtesy of Getty Images.

Every year, the arrival of the Armory Show sets New York City buzzing with satellite fairs, art parties, events, and more. Among the shows not to miss is the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, a celebration where bibliophiles and avid collectors can browse a vast selection of rare books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, letters, first editions, and other treasures at the Park Avenue Armory. The subject matter is diverse, featuring a broad array of topics including medicine, art, literature, Americana, photography, and autographs. The fair is sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, meaning you can trust that each item has been carefully vetted for authenticity and completeness. Now in its 59th year, the fair is produced by Sanford L. Smith & Associates, and is open to the public fromMarch 8 through March 10. Herewith, AD highlights some of the most exciting items for art, architecture, and design lovers to check out.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

Die Bühne im Bauhaus by Oskar Schlemmer, László Moholy-Nagy, and Farkas Molnár a vintage book that reads Bauhaus 4. Oskar Schlemmer / [László] Moholy-Nagy (et al.): Die Bühne im Bauhaus. [The Stage at the Bauhaus]. (Bauhausbücher 4). München, Albert Langen (1924). 84 pages, 2 leaves, one folding colour plate ("Partiturskizze zu einer mechanischen Exzentrik"), as well as another unnumbered leaf between pp. 60 and 61 (printed on transparent paper). Original publisher's wrappers with dust jacket. 18.5 x 23 cm. Housed in a modern acrylic glass slipcase.

Image courtesy of the New York Antiquarian Book Fair.

Price upon request Exhibitor: Daniela Kromp Rare and Unique Books

Just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus, Daniela Kromp Rare and Unique Books presents Carl "Casca" Schlemmer's working copy of Die Bühne im Bauhaus, dedicated to him with an inscription by his brother, Oscar.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

The Colossus by Sylvia Plath the first page of a book with an inscription A close-up of Plath's inscription.

Image courtesy of The New York Antiquarian Book Fair. $40,000 Exhibitor: Jonkers Rare Books

A rare first edition of Sylvia Plath's The Colossus, the only book of her poems to be published while she was alive, with an inscription dedicated to Ted Hughes's aunt Hilda.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States two pieces of vintage text that read the declarations of the rights of women Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States by the National American Woman Suffrage Association [Anthony & Stanton] (First edition, 1876).

Image courtesy of The New York Antiquarian Book Fair. $37,500 Exhibitor: Whitmore Rare Books

This is the only copy to ever come into private hands.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

Signed letter by John F. Kennedy a letter on White House letterhead by JFK TLS. 1 pg. 6 ¾” x 9”. October 8, 1962. The White House. A typed letter signed “John Kennedy” as President on “The White House” letterhead.

Image courtesy of The New York Antiquarian Book Fair. $7,500 Exhibitor: Stuart Lutz Historic Documents

This letter, sent to Congresswoman Corrine B. Riley of South Carolina, is the only known letter where President Kennedy mentions his Catholic faith.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

Das Kapital by Karl Marx the first page of a book Hamburg, Otto Meisner, 1867. 8vo. Nice contemporary blackhalf calf with gilt spine. Minor wear to hinges and capitals, which have tiny, barely noticeable professional restorations. Inner hinges re-enforced. Contemporary owner's names (Emil Kirchner and Karl Kirchner (1887)) to front free end-paper. Contemporary book-plate to inside of front board (Ernst Ferdinand Kirchner). A very nice copy with just the slightest of occasional brown spotting. Housed in a very nice custom-made black full morocco box with gilt lettering to spine. XII, 784 pp.

Image courtesy of The New York Antiquarian Book Fair. $175,000 Exhibitor: Herman H.J. Lynge & Son

A rare first edition of Marx's revolutionary work that reveals and criticizes the exploitation of labor in capitalism.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter Thompson cover illustration a framed version of an illustration Steadman, Ralph [Thompson, Hunter]. Bats Over Barstow.

[Lexington, KY]: [Petro III Graphics], [1994]. First Edition. Copy #24 of only 77 signed by Steadman of this large (26" x 40" framed to an overall size of 36" x 50") color silkscreen print, a redrawn version of the illustration for the cover of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Image courtesy of The New York Antiquarian Book Fair. $18,500 Exhibitor: Charles Agvent

Instantly recognizable as the cover of Hunter S. Thompson's autobiographical novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the print captures the book's disorienting nature and references the opening sentence.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain a book open to a page with an inscription and signature Octavo (214 x 164mm). Publisher's original half morocco, marbled edges, marbled end papers, re-backed with original spine laid down. Custom red morocco-backed slipcase and chemise.

Image courtesy of The New York Antiquarian Book Fair. $194,929.50 Exhibitor: Peter Harrington

This is the first copy that Mark Twain ever laid eyes on, and features an inscription to Major J.B. Pond.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

Signed pointe shoe by Vaslav Nijinsky antique ballet slipper with a signature The shoe was signed in 1914 Image courtesy of The New York Antiquarian Book Fair. $29,500 Exhibitor: Tamino Autographs

The shoe is signed by Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, who is cited as one of the best male dancers of the 20th century.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

March 6, 2019

5 Reasons To Go To The Antiquarian Book Fair This Weekend

By Fred Nicolaus This weekend, hardcore bibliophiles will swarm the Park Avenue Armory for the 59th-annual Antiquarian Book Fair—the premier U.S. event for rare books and ephemera will draw more than 200 sellers and thousands of book nerds looking for a fix. Though it’s not generally the biggest event on most designers’ radars, the fair has plenty to offer: Attendees will find ancient passementerie sample books, intriguing maps, gorgeous vintage floral studies and sketches for 18th-century tapestries. (Not to mention the occasional bookish celeb spotting— keep an eye out for regular attendee Steve Martin.)

Designers who look into the past often find something for the future. Kravet chief creative director Scott Kravet, a well-known collector of historical design ephemera, notes the importance of the firm’s archive for his designers’ practice: “We have over 65,000 references,” he tells Business of Home. “[Our designers] are inspired by these and incorporate them into future collections.”

In advance of the fair, we spoke with exhibitors on five design-friendly pieces they’re offering for sale.

https://businessofhome.com/articles/5-reasons-to-go-to-the-antiquarian-book-fair-this-weekend

A 19th-century Louis Vuitton ‘trade card’ Courtesy of the NY Antiquarian Book Fair

Louis Vuitton Trade Card

In its early days, Louis Vuitton was less known for style and more for technical innovations—lightweight, waterproof, stackable traveling cases were a novelty in the 19th century. However, much like the Vuitton of today, back then the company’s work was often copied for cheap knockoffs. Bookseller Brian Cassidy says the striping demonstrated on this “trade card” (the equivalent of a business card) was an early attempt to make Vuitton’s product visually distinct and difficult to copy, an effort that led to the company’s iconic Damier pattern in 1888.

An oil studio for a tapestry by François Boucher Courtesy of the NY Antiquarian Book Fair

https://businessofhome.com/articles/5-reasons-to-go-to-the-antiquarian-book-fair-this-weekend

Study for Boucher Tapestry Made at Beauvais Rococo artist François Boucher is probably best known as a painter, but in his lifetime, his tapestries were much coveted. This oil study was the basis for one panel in a set of five depicting the story of Psyche.

Manufactured by the iconic Beauvais factory, there were only six complete sets ever manufactured, mostly for royal families throughout Europe. Bookseller Steffen Völker notes that the study is fairly close to the final tapestry, with only a few differences in color—indicating it was likely a final draft. “It’s very common that the actual tapestry is rather different than the drafts,” he says. “Oftentimes the patron would see a design and change something, saying ‘I don’t like this color, I don’t like that.’” Sound familiar?

A plan for the Villa Benedetti Courtesy of the NY Antiquarian Book Fair

Design for the Villa Benedetti Plautilla Bricci is the first recognized female architect in history, and the Villa Benedetti in Rome is her most famous work. Designed as a residence for the 17th-century art agent Elpidio Benedetti (he commissioned art for Louis XIV, among others), the building was intended to be a gallery-like showcase for his stock in trade. This sketch is notable for the hand of another artist—baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who contributed to the design of the final plans. Ironic and perhaps not surprising that the most famous building by the world’s first female architect had some heavy-handed intrusion from a male colleague.

https://businessofhome.com/articles/5-reasons-to-go-to-the-antiquarian-book-fair-this-weekend

Zebra Biscuit Wrapper Designed by Aleksandr Rodchenko

Biscuit packaging designed by Aleksandr Rodchenko Courtesy of the NY Antiquarian Book Fair

Rodchenko was the iconic graphic designer of Russia’s revolutionary period. His striking work defined the visual language of the era, and left an enduring mark on art to come—Barbara Kruger and Shepard Fairey both cite him as an influence. Though he’s remembered as a fine artist, in the 1920s Rodchenko collaborated with Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky on packaging and posters for state-produced products—perhaps the world’s first communist ad agency. Rodchenko’s biscuit packaging taps into the grand tradition of high-meets-low, unintentionally presaging everything from Missoni’s Disaronno bottles to Kelly Wearstler’s chocolate bar wrappers. The seller, book dealer Howard Garfinkel, says Rodchenko’s work holds a strong draw for young design aficionados. “I often get students who come to the booth asking to take pictures,” he says. “They know what this stuff is, but they’re never seen it in person.”

https://businessofhome.com/articles/5-reasons-to-go-to-the-antiquarian-book-fair-this-weekend

The Blue Map of the World by Huang Qianren This stunning map is both a political statement and an artistic marvel. Originally produced in the late 18th century, it shows China at the height of the Qing empire. The kingdom itself is lovingly rendered in detail, whereas surrounding countries are depicted as intentionally vague—a symbol of how the royal family perceived the geopolitical order at the time. Historical value aside, the map—presented by Daniel Crouch Rare Books—is a triumph of artistic cartography.

The Blue Map of the World Courtesy of the NY Antiquarian Book Fair

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair will be held at the Park Avenue Armory (43 Park Ave.) Thursday, March 7, through Sunday, March 10. Daily admission is $25, $10 for students. Advance tickets can be purchased here.

https://businessofhome.com/articles/5-reasons-to-go-to-the-antiquarian-book-fair-this-weekend

March 9, 2019

NBC NY Instagram Story

By Staff Writer

https://www.instagram.com/nbcnewyork/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/nbcnewyork/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/nbcnewyork/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/nbcnewyork/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/nbcnewyork/?hl=en

March 14, 2019

Event Recap: The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

By Charlotte Kohlberg

From March 7-9, the much-anticipated New York Antiquarian Book Fair (NYABF) returns to New York City at the Park Avenue Armory for its 59thedition. A paradise for bibliophiles, it also attracts art lovers and history buffs from all around the world, presenting oodles and oodles of amazing material, including rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, illustrations, historical documents, photographs, and other insanely wonderful ephemera.

The large medieval looking doors are the first greetings when walking into this book fair, immediately establishing that something historical is about to go down. Upon walking through the lobby and checking in your coat, guests are immediately overwhelmed by the maze of white booths displaying their folios, books, and other oddities. It was truly a feast for the eyes as you walk around and catch glimpses of first print Ian Fleming novels, old movie posters, and even a letter typed by Eleanor Roosevelt herself.

The large room was crammed with over 200 of the finest international galleries, spanning sixteen countries from South America to the United Kingdom, who sell material for experienced connoisseurs and young collectors. The wide range of products on display includes but are not limited to art, medicine, literature, photography, fashion, Americana, philosophy, children’s books, etc.

Whether you are a major Lord of the Rings fan, want to see a bit of history in real life, or just curious about the history of modern medical practices, this fair delivers to all interests and obsessions.

https://theknockturnal.com/event-recap-the-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

January 28, 2019

Q&A with London’s rare book fair chairman Pom Harrington With Biblio as partner and a rebrand of its annual fair, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association is expecting a spike in visitors and exhibitors at its flagship event.

By Noelle McElhatton

'Firsts – London’s Rare Book Fair' chairman Pom Harrington.

In his first year as the chairman of Firsts – London’s Rare Book Fair, dealer Pom Harrington has his work cut out, not least finding a new chief sponsor for the 2019 edition to replace AbeBooks. Here, Harrington tells ATG how the partnership will work as Firsts London seeks to grow.

ATG: You’ve moved quickly to replace the ABA fair’s sponsor of the past three years, AbeBooks.

PH: It was very clear that dealers were upset at AbeBooks withdrawing from certain countries and the decision to drop them as sponsor of Firsts – London’s Rare Book Fair was ultimately taken by the ABA Council and the Fair Committee. We then looked for new sponsors and Biblio popped up quite quickly. https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/print-edition/2019/february/2377/news/qa-with-london-s-rare-book-fairchairman-pom-harrington/

ATG: Aside from financial support, what does Biblio bring as chief sponsor?

PH: The official partner of Firsts London is not just about financial support, it’s having a company that fits with a fair representing independent booksellers. Biblio is that company. It is an independent marketplace, not corporate at all and so a great fit with a fair for fine booksellers, many of whom are sole traders.

Biblio sponsors a couple of fairs in the US and being the ABA’s fair partner is a big step for them. It has a base of 5000-plus dealers and a UK presence, looking to expand into Europe and with social media marketing that is particularly strong.

They’re also a pleasure to work with. I had dinner with the CEO, Brendan Sherar, recently when he was in Europe. He came to London specially to see us and he was impressed with the Battersea Evolution venue.

So, overall, Biblio is fully engaged with promoting the fair, which is what you look for in a partner.

ATG: What are your ambitions for Firsts London with Biblio on board?

PH: As a books marketplace, Biblio has great reach. We want to market this fair to as many people as possible to buy and sell rare books.

We’re looking for more private customers to visit the fair but also a strong partner like Biblio will encourage more exhibitors and there’s capacity at the Battersea venue to do that.

We’re the oldest but not the world’s biggest rare book fair, which is the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair [March 7-10, 2019].

We have an exciting joint project to market the fair, including from February, Biblio giving free invitations to its dealer members and buyers, which is brilliant. We’ve also agreed a strong social media campaign across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the website.

ATG: How does the exhibitor base break down currently?

PH: Of some 170 exhibitors last year, about 30% were from overseas, across 20 countries, who tend to come in quite late. Normally we get about 35 European dealers and this year 11 from the US have already signed up. There are two more months to do so.

ATG: What was the thinking behind the fair’s rebrand to ‘Firsts’ last year?

PH: The whole point about Firsts London is that we all deal in the first appearances of things – the first On the Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin, or Bentley’s first photo of Mount Everest, the first letters from Charles Dickens, or the first book showing a tulip.

We’re all collectively dealing in firsts, which I think is a more suitable description than ‘antiquarian books’, as the fair is so much broader in what it offers. 'Firsts' covers the fact that you can buy 20th century and contemporary books, manuscripts, photographs and letters at the fair.

ATG: What other news may we expect about Firsts?

PH: You already know that we’ve moved the fair from late May to June 7-9, 2019 and away from clashing with half-term in schools [21-27 May, 2019] and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show [27-31 May, 2019].

There’s no question that where it was scheduled hurt attendance on Friday and Saturday on general public day. So, this year, I expect a serious increase in the number of visiting general public to the fair.

We have some plans to announce shortly – one new associate partner that is not competitive with Biblio, which will be a real add-on.

https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/print-edition/2019/february/2377/news/qa-with-london-s-rare-book-fairchairman-pom-harrington/

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Art3f Paris Pans. France

ArtWynwood Miami, FL, US

Just Mad Madrid. Spain

Arton Paper New York. NY. US

www.art3ffr

www.artwynwaod.com

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1-4FEBRUARY

15-17 FEBRUARY

17 FEBRUARY-3 MARCH

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Arte Fiera Bologna Bologna. Italy

Art3fToulouse Toulouse. France

Arco Madrid Madrid. Spain

www.artefierait

www.art3ffr

www.ifema.es/arcomadrid_06

NY Antiquarian Book Fair New York. NY, US

6-10 FEBRUARY

15·18FEBRUARY

27 FEBRUARY-3 MARCH

Zona Maco Mexico City. Mexico

Arte Genova Genoa, Italy

Art Madrid Madrid, Spain

https://zsonamaco.com

www.artegenova.com

www.art-madrid.com

7-10FEBRUARY

15-18 FEBRUARY

28 FEBRUARY-3 MARCH

Art Rotterdam Rotterdam, Netherlands

Art Palm Springs Palm Springs,CA US

The Art Show (ADAA) New York, NY, US

www.artrotterdam.com

www.art-palmsprings.com

https://artdealers.org/ the-art-show/information

www.thearmoryshowcom

7-I0FEBRUARY

15-18 FEBRUARY

Material Mexico City, Mexico

28 FEBRUARY-3 MARCH

8-10MARCH

https://material-fair.com

Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale (Spring) Palm Springs, CA US

Collect London.UK

Collective Design Fair New York. NY. US

http://winter.pa/mspringsmodernism.com

www.craftscouncil.org.uk

https://collectivedesignfair.o

7-lO FEBRUARY

Rotterdam Photo Rotterdam. Netherlands

1-3MARCH

8-10 MARCH

15·17FEBRUARY

Hybrid Contemporary Madrid. Spain

Contemporary Art Ruh Ruhr, Germany

www.hybridartfair.com

http://contempararyartruhr.,

nyantiquarianbookfair.com 7-10MARCH

Scope New York New York, NY, US https://scope-art.com

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rotterdamphotofestiva/com 8-10 FEBRUARY

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Investec Cape Town Art Fair Cape Town. South Africa

7-l0MARCH

The Armory Show New York. NY. US

San Francisco Tribal and Textile Art Show San Francisco,CA, US

investeccapetownartfair.co.za

1-l0MARCH

8-10MARCH

16-17 FEBRUARY

Mercanteinfiera Spring Parma. Italy

Independent New York, NY, US

http://sanfranciscotribalandtextileartshowcom

American Indian Art Show: Marin San Rafael. CA US

www.fiereparma.it/en/event/ mercanteinfiera-spring-2019

www.independenthq.com

8-11 FEBRUARY

http://marinshowcom

6-lOMARCH

Sommet St Moritz. Switzerland

21-24 FEBRUARY

Art&Antik Munster. Germany

Collectible Brussels, Belgium

13-17MARCH

http://sommet.art

Art Karlsruhe Karlsruhe, Germany

www.artundantik-muenster.de

13-17 FEBRUARY

www.art-karlsruhe.de

6·10MARCH

Felix LA Los Angeles,CA US

11-24 FEBRUARY

Art Bahrain Sanabis, Bahrain artbab.com

13-19 FEBRUARY

The Artist Project Toronto. Canada

Palm Beach Show Palm Beach, FL. US

www.theartistproject.com

6·10MARCH

www.palmbeachshowcom

22-24 FEBRUARY

Masterpiece Munster Munster, Germany www.ortundontik-muenster.de

13· 17 FEBRUARY

Art Fair Philippines Manila. Philippines http://ortfoirphilippines.com

6·10MARCH

22-26 FEBRUARY

Volta New York New York. NY, US

Art Los Angeles Contemporary Los Angeles,CA US https://ortlosongelesfair.com 14·17 FEBRUARY

Naples Art, Antiques and Jewellery Show Naples, FL. US

https://collectible.design 14-17MARCH

Affordable Art Fair Brussels. Belgium https://affordableartfair.com 16·14MARCH

Tefaf Maastricht Maastricht. Netherlands www.tefofcom 20·23MARCH

Art Dubai Dubai. United Arab Emirate http://www.ortdubai.ae

https://voltoshowcom 10·24MARCH 7·10MARCH

Frieze Los Angeles Los Angeles,CA. US

www.naplesshowcom

Affordable Art Fair London, UI<

https://frieze.com/foirs

23·24 FEBRUARY

https://affordobleortfair.com

Chelsea Antiques Fair London, UI< www.penmon-fo1rs.co.uk

Stockholm International Stockholm,Sweden

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

Marrakech Marrakesh, Morocco

Art Fair Tokyo Tokyo, Japan

wwwantikmassan.se

http://1·54.com/morrokech

British Art Dealers Association (Bada) London. UI<

https://ortfoirtokyo.com

www.bodo.org/bodo·fair

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February 1, 2019

2019 Worldwide Book & Literary Festivals

By Staff Writer

https://thewritersnewsletter.com/2019-worldwide-book-literary-festivals

February 1, 2019

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

By Staff Writer

Pierre Mac Orlan, “La Danse Macabre.” 1927. Illustrations by Yan B. Dyl. (Courtesy Arthur Fournier Fine & Rare)

https://www.innewyork.com/listings/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

(March 7-10, 2019) Thousands of rare books, manuscripts and maps are exhibited and sold at this expansive and vetted book fair, featuring more than 200 American and international dealers. Specialties include literature, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books, philsophy, photography, fashion, medicine and more.

Th 5-9 pm (preview), F noon-8 pm, Sa noon-7 pm, Su noon-5 pm $25 daily admission, $45 run of show, $10 students, free for children 16 and under, $60 preview ADDRESS Park Avenue Armory New York, NY PHONE (212) 777 - 5218 WEBSITE http://www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com

https://www.innewyork.com/listings/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

February 1, 2019

Upcoming Events

By Staff Writer

The 59th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue New York, NY Between 66/67 Streets Thursday March 9th - 5:00 - 9:00PM Friday 10th – 5:00-9:00PM Saturday 11th – Noon-7:00PM Sunday 12th – Noon-5:00PM Click for more information

https://www.eclectibles.com/category-s/152.htm

February 1, 2019

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

By Staff Writer

Pierre Mac Orlan, “La Danse Macabre.” 1927. Illustrations by Yan B. Dyl. (Courtesy Arthur Fournier Fine & Rare)

https://www.wheretraveler.com/new-york-city/shop/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

(March 7-10, 2019) Thousands of rare books, manuscripts and maps are exhibited and sold at this expansive and vetted book fair, featuring more than 200 American and international dealers. Specialties include literature, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books, philsophy, photography, fashion, medicine and more.

Th 5-9 pm (preview), F noon-8 pm, Sa noon-7 pm, Su noon-5 pm $25 daily admission, $45 run of show, $10 students, free for children 16 and under, $60 preview Address: Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Ave New York, NY 10065 United States Phones: 212 777 5218 Website: http://www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com

https://www.wheretraveler.com/new-york-city/shop/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair

February 13, 2019

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns To Park Avenue Armory March 7-10

By Staff Writer

Ely, Timothy. Bones of the Book: An Oblong Identity. Colfax, WA: Timothy Ely, 1990-[2015]. Unique. Tight, bright, and unmarred. Exhibitor: Lux Mentis Booksellers Collection of 112 caricatures of Napoleon Bonaparte. Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, 17981823. Various sizes. Mostly hand-colored copper engravings. From Antiquarian Stefan Vรถlkel.

The much anticipated New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) produced by Sanford L. Smith + Associates returns to the Park Avenue Armory for its 59th edition March 7-10, 2019. A mecca for bibliophiles and seekers of the curious and quirky, the fair will present a vast treasure trove of material - rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents and print ephemera.

https://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/4185-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-returns-to-park-aven

Highlights include: 

First editions, first states of each title comprising the The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien



The most beautiful of Göbl's Tarot games. The game was published on the occasion of the disastrous marriage of Emperor Joseph II with Maria Josefa of Bavaria, in 1765. Exhibitor: Antiquariat Steffen Völkel GmbH



Group of 20 photographs, carte-de-visite and cabinet sizes of circus "freaks" and impresario P. T. Barnum. Exhibitor: Shulson Autographs



First draft of an unpublished S.J.Perelman film script



Fasciculus Medicinae, One of the most important medical works of 15th century and the first illustrated medical book



Exceedingly rare suite depicting the games and entertainments in Tuscany in the 18th century, entirely contemporary water colored.



Timothy Ely's, Bones of the Book

The Book Fair, widely considered the finest antiquarian book fair in the world, has been a must-see event for institutions, seasoned connoisseurs and scholars. In recent years, it has increasingly captivated young collectors with unique offerings at accessible price points. The specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, culinary culture, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and much more.

From the historic and academic, to the religious and spiritual, to the bedrock of secular culture - sex, lies, rockn-roll, money, politics – the fair has offerings in every conceivable genre and subject. NYIABF is officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).

In its 59th edition, NYIABF will present more 217 exhibitors—the most ever-- culled from the finest American and international antiquarian dealers. In addition to 102 U.S. galleries, NYIABF enjoys strong international participation with galleries hailing from the United Kingdom (38), France (19), Germany (10), Italy (11), The Netherlands (6), Spain (1), Denmark (2), Australia (3), Austria (4), Argentina (3), Canada (2), Japan (2), Belgium (2), Czech Republic (1), and Switzerland (5).

Preview Night Thursday, March 7 | 5pm-9pm Daily Hours Friday, March 8 | 12pm-8pm Saturday, March 9 | 12pm – 7pm Sunday, March 10 | 12pm-5pm -- Special Event - Discovery Day Sunday, March 10 | 1pm-3pm A NYIABF tradition, Discovery Day offers ticketed visitors the opportunity to bring their own rare books, manuscripts, maps, etc. (up to 5 items) Exhibitors will be on hand to offer expert advice and free appraisals. - Preview Pass: $60 (Includes one daily re-admission) Daily Admission: $25 Students: $10 (with valid ID) Run of Show: $45 Location: Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065 www.armoryonpark.org New York International Antiquarian Book Fair www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com Facebook @nybookfair | Instagram @nyantiquarianbookfair Tag us on social media: #NYABF19 Produced by Sanford L. Smith + Associates | www.sanfordsmith.com | (212) 777-5218

https://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/4185-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-returns-to-park-aven

February 13, 2019

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

By Staff Writer Park Avenue Armory , Upper East Side Thursday March 7 2019 - Sunday March 10 2019

If you've got a thing for musty old books, this is your fair, with literary works from approximately 200 international vendors displayed inside one of NYC's grandest halls. Look out for printings dating back to the 14th century, including rare books, maps, manuscripts and plenty of hidden gems. *Pickup by NYC Go

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/new-york-antiquarian-book-fair#tab_panel_2

February 14, 2019

UK Exhibition Of Rare Antarctic Books for Shackleton's 145th Birthday

By Staff Writer

To celebrate the 145th anniversary of Ernest Shackleton's birth, Jonkers Rare Books are pleased to stage a selling exhibition featuring some of the rarest books about his life and expeditions, as well as items referring to other famous expeditions from the history of Polar exploration. Shackleton was recently voted by the British public as the greatest explorer of the 20th Century in the BBC Icons series.

Jonkers are exhibiting a remarkable collection of books, manuscripts and artwork at their showroom, 27 Hart Street, Henley on Thames, on his birthday, Friday, February 15, 2019, and publishing an accompanying catalogue with full descriptions of the expeditions and the rare items offered. The exhibition will move to the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, March 7-10. All listed items are for sale.

Some books are remarkable for what they have to say about the polar regions, others were actually produced

by Shackleton's men in the Antarctic.

Shackleton highlights from the exhibition include:

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/2019/02/uk-exhibition-of-rare-antarctic-books-for-shackletons-145thbirthday.phtml

20 - Aurora Australis The First Book Printed And Bound In Antarctica. A remarkable feat of publishing, book design and determination in the conditions most ill-fitting on the planet for book production.

Three of the expedition's crew were trained in book production by the printers Joseph Causton and Sons in advance of the expedition, who also donated the expedition a print press. But little could prepare them for the problems they would face. A candle had to be kept under the ink to prevent it from freezing, and only a page or two could be produced per day throughout the winter. The finished product, a book of incredible beauty and a testament to the perseverance of the Antarctic explorers who produced it, is the holy grail of Antarctic books.

This copy is one of only a few signed by Shackleton, and it is priced at £150,000.

21 - Shackleton's Antarctic Menu. How Shackleton's Men Celebrated Midwinter. The other item printed on Shackleton's printing press in the Antarctic is this very rare menu, which was set around the table for the expedition's Midwinter Feast of 1908. The feast was, according to Shackleton himself, "a release, and an occasion for a wild spree." This tongue in cheek menu captures the high-spirits of the occasion. It proposes a starter of Turtle Soup, followed by Penguin Patties and Seal Cutlets. The pièce de résistance was Roast Reindeer and Black Currant Jelly with a garnish of Potatoes and Green Peas. Dessert was a selection of Plum Pudding, Ealing Cake and Mince Pies. Champagne and whisky are prescribed throughout, followed by Coffee, Cigars and Cigarettes. A 'drunk' typesetter then proposed yet "MORE WHISHKY!!!!!?" before "Sledges at 12-30". There was likely little more than a dozen copies of this menu originally printed, and only a handful of those are known to survive today. This copy is the one brought back from the Antarctic by expedition's cook, William Roberts.

No. 22 - An Original Employment Contract For Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition. This collection also features an original employment contract for the Nimrod expedition between Ernest Shackleton and the expedition's cook William Roberts. Unruly cooks had caused problems on previous Antarctic expeditions but Roberts was sound choice, who had experience both on land and sea and had most recently been the pastry chef at the Naval & Military Club. His work seems to have been appreciated. A visitor to the Cape Royd's kitchen years later commented "Shackleton's men must have fed like turkey cocks for all the delicacies here".

Original contracts of this kind for Antarctic expeditions are extremely rare. We are aware of no other surviving copies of contracts for Shackleton's Nimrod expedition. It is priced at £6,500.

Image: No. 20 - Aurora Australis. The first book printed in Antarctica.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/2019/02/uk-exhibition-of-rare-antarctic-books-for-shackletons-145thbirthday.phtml

February 18, 2019

New York Book Fair 2019

By Rich Rennicks From March 7-10, 2019 book lovers will find a fascinating treasure trove at the Park Avenue Armory. Over 200 American and international dealers will exhibit at The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, bringing a vast selection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera.

The diversity of specialties includes art, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana, and much more.

This book fair is officially sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. This means that collectors can rely upon the experience and professionalism of participating dealers and the authenticity of the items available for purchase.

Hours Thursday, March 7 5-9pm -- Preview Night Friday, March 8, noon-8pm Saturday, March 9, noon-7pm Sunday, March 10, noon-5pm Discovery Day (Sunday, 1pm-3pm) Bring a treasure to be evaluated by our experts! Free with paid admission to the Fair.

Tickets Preview Pass: $60 (Includes one daily re-admission) Daily Admission: $25 Students: $10 (with valid ID) Run of Show: $45 (Student and Run of Show tickets are only available at the door.)

Buy tickets...

Venue: Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Avenue, New York).

Preview items: STEADMAN, Ralph [THOMPSON, Hunter]. BATS OVER BARSTOW.

https://www.abaa.org/blog/post/new-york-book-fair-2019

[Lexington, KY]: [Petro III Graphics], [1994]. First Edition. Copy #24 of only 77 SIGNED by Steadman of this large (26" x 40" framed to an overall size of 36" x 50") color silkscreen print, a redrawn version of the illustration for the cover of FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. The opening sentence of the book is perfectly captured in this image--â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take holdâ&#x20AC;?--with Steadman's successful surrealistic attempt to disorient the viewer as Thompson did with his prose. An iconic image and extremely scarce in the marketplace. Fine, not examined out of the frame.

Offered by Charles Agvent, booth D23.

Follow the ABAA Instagram account for more preview items over the coming weeks.

https://www.abaa.org/blog/post/new-york-book-fair-2019

February 19, 2019

NY International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns to Park Avenue Armory March 7-10

By Staff Writer

New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;The beloved New York International Antiquarian Book Fair(NYIABF) produced by Sanford L. Smith + Associates returns to the Park Avenue Armory for its 59th edition March 7-10, 2019. A mecca for bibliophiles and seekers of the curious and quirky, the fair will present a vast treasure trove of material - rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents and print ephemera.

The Book Fair, widely considered the finest antiquarian book fair in the world, has been a must-see event for seasoned connoisseurs and scholars. In recent years, it has increasingly captivated young collectors with unique offerings at accessible price points. The specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, culinary culture, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books and much more. From the historic and academic, to the religious and spiritual, to the bedrock of secular culture - sex, lies, rock-n-roll, money, politics - the fair has offerings in every conceivable genre and subject. NYIABF is officially sanctioned

by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).

In its 59th edition, NYIABF will present more than 200 exhibitors culled from the finest American and international antiquarian dealers. In addition to 102 U.S. galleries, NYIABF enjoys strong international participation with galleries hailing from the United Kingdom (38), France (19), Germany (10), Italy (11), The Netherlands (6), Spain (1), Denmark (2), Australia (3), Austria (4), Argentina (3), Canada (2), Japan (2), Belgium (2), Czech Republic (1), and Switzerland (5).

Image: Credit Timothy Ely. Courtesy of Lux Mentis Booksellers. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/2019/02/ny-international-antiquarian-book-fair-returns-to-park-avenuearmory-march-7-10.phtml

February 20, 2019

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

By Staff Writer

07-10 Mar 2019 Park Avenue Armory, New York, USA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is a 4 day event being held from 7th March to the 10th March 2019 at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, USA. This event showcases art, early printed books, fairy tales/mythology, foreign literature, manuscripts, medicine, science travel/voyage, etc. ephemera, maps, and so much more.

Timings 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Mar 07) (Public) 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Mar 08) (Public) 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM ( Mar 09) (Public) 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM ( Mar 10) (Public) Entry Fees Paid* Participants 1000 - 5000 Visitors 100 - 500 Exhibitors

https://10times.com/antiquarian-book-fair

Editions 07-10 Mar 2019 08-11 Mar 2018 09-12 Mar 2017 07-10 Apr 2016

https://10times.com/antiquarian-book-fair

February 23, 2019

Events For March Will Have You Seeing Green

By Suzanna Bowling

March brings out thoughts of Spring and with that the Macy’s Flower Show, The Orchid Show, St Patrick’s Day festivities and film festivals Galore. Here is T2C’s picks for March.

3/ 1: New York City Drone Film Festivalscreens short films shot using a drone and holds interactive panels and seminars at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on Saturday 3/ 1 – 3: African Diaspora International Film Festival celebrates black history month “with a selection of films about the multiple dimensions of black history” at Teachers College at Columbia University.

3/ 1 – 3: See the best of contemporary French films, including premieres, plus panel discussions at RendezVous with French Cinema. All films have English subtitles.

3/ 1 – 17: New York International Children’s Film Festival shows new, inspiring, and thought-provoking films about youth from around the world, suitable for families.

https://t2conline.com/events-for-march-will-have-you-seeing-green/

3/ 1 – 5/28: The Orchid Show fills the conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden with thousands of orchids in an amazing array of colors, shapes, sizes, and textures.

3/ 7 & 9: Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival screens dozens of unusual films “that challenge the viewers reality with ideas and concepts not normally found in conventional stories.” Directors appear at some screenings.

March 7 – Museum of the Moving Image March 9 – The Producers Club 3/ 7 – 10: Flamenco superstar Sara Baras performs with “brilliant footwork and captivating stage presence” at New York City Center.

3 7 – 10: New York International Antiquarian Book Fair features 200 dealers of rare books, maps, and manuscripts at the Park Avenue Armory. The New York City Book and Ephemera Fair on Sat. & Sun. 3/ 7 – 10: See contemporary art from the world’s leading galleries at The Armory Show at Piers 92 & 94.

3/ 8 – 9: Entrepreneurs Festivaloffers speakers, panels, a party, roundtables, and a showcase of 50 startups for current and future entrepreneurs in Tisch Hall at NYU.

https://t2conline.com/events-for-march-will-have-you-seeing-green/

3/ 8 – 10: Clio Art Fairis a curated fair in Chelsea featuring artists without exclusive gallery representation.

Held in March and October. Free.

3/ 8 – 10: Art on Paper features galleries exhibiting drawings, paintings, photography, and even sculpture incorporating paper at Pier 36.

3/ 9: The NYC Winter Wine Festivalfeatures 250 wines, light hors d’oeuvres, and live jazz at PlayStation Theater in Times Square for age 21+.

3/ 9 – 10: Smaller and homier than New York Comic Con held in October, Big Apple Comic Con includes special guests, panel discussions, seminars, film previews, costumes, cosplay, and vendors at Penn Plaza Pavilion. https://t2conline.com/events-for-march-will-have-you-seeing-green/

3/ 10: Enjoy games, craft-making, music, and dance at the St. Patrick’s Open Day at the Irish Arts Center.

Free.

3/ 12 – 17: WOW – Women of the World Festival features performances, talks, comedy, workshops, and music celebrating women’s talents at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

3/ 3 – 23: Asia Week New Yorkincludes exhibitions at galleries and museums, art auctions, sales, panel discussions, lectures, curator talks, and workshops.

3/ 15 – 16: City of Tomorrow features fascinating panel discussions by real estate developers, architects, and design innovators at 92nd Street Y. 3/ 15 – 21: SR Socially Relevant Film Festival screens films that contain “socially relevant film content and everyday positive human stories” in four Manhattan venues.

3/ 16: Billed as the world’s oldest and largest St. Patrick’s parade, New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Paradecelebrates Irish culture and the Catholic faith on 5th Avenue from 44th to 79th. No alcohol or pets.

Free.

3/ 16: Sober St. Patrick’s Day offers traditional Irish music, dance, song, and comedy for all ages without alcohol at 268 Mulberry Street.

3/ 16 – 4/27: Wander through the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden, buy a cocktail, and hear romantic music playing on Orchid Evenings for age 21+.

3/ 17 (1:30 p.m.): Follow clues on a three-hour adventure around New York City with the help of a smartphone app on The Amazing St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt, which begins at Slattery’s Pub for age 21+.

3/ 17 (7:30 p.m.): Inspired by the lush 19th-century bordellos of Paris and New Orleans, The Poetry Brothelfeatures readings by poets, burlesque, live music, vaudeville, aerialists, visual art, and magic at The Back Room for age 21+.

3/ 17: The New York Flute Fairfeatures performances, workshops, exhibits, master classes, and a competition at Columbia University. https://t2conline.com/events-for-march-will-have-you-seeing-green/

3/ 21 – 24: Find inspiration for home improvement, shop for home products, and attend design seminars at theArchitectural Digest Design Showat Piers 92 & 94. Children age 11 and younger are free.

3/ 22 (6 to 9 p.m.): Good Spiritspairs fine spirits with local restaurant food to delight your taste buds at The Bowery Hotel for age 21+.

3/ 23 – 24: New York Peace Film Festivalscreens “films from around the world that advance global peace” at the Unitarian Church of All Souls. Free registration.

3/ 24 – 4/ 7: See spectacular arrangements of flowers from around the world and attend scheduled events at Macy’s Flower Show in the store on Herald Square. Free.

3/ 25 (7 to 9 p.m.): Taste eight different plant-based burgers and vote for your favorite at the The Burger Supremacy, which includes chips, salsa, and drink specials at Vspot Organic, 12 Saint Mark’s Place.

3/ 27 – 4/ 7: See films by emerging or not-yet-established international filmmakers at New Directors/New Films at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. 3/ 28 – 31: Browse contemporary paintings, prints, sculptures, and photographs from 70 galleries at Affordable Art Fair, with workshops and talks at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea.

3/ 30 (1 p.m., VIP noon): NYC Craft Distillers Festivalhas samples of 60 craft spirits, a 1920s jazz band, and a prohibition theme at The Bowery Hotel for age 21+.

https://t2conline.com/events-for-march-will-have-you-seeing-green/

February 25, 2019

Preview The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair 2019

By Staff Writer

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NY-Antiquarian-Book-Fair.pdf

February 26, 2019

Peter Harrington to Exhibit Twain, Lovelace & Swift at the NYABF

By Staff Writer

Peter Harrington, one of the world’s largest rare booksellers, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and is attending The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair in March, with a selection of rare books and manuscripts, each of which has a fascinating history.

Highlights include: 

An inscribed first US edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain ($195,000);



A remarkably rare first edition of the paper Ada Lovelace, the first computer programer, wrote, which belonged to her maths tutor, who has extensively annotated it ($325,000);



The original typescript of Fleming's last Bond novel, The Man with the Golden Gun, with his corrections and those of his posthumous editor Kingsley Amis ($230,000);



A first edition of Brighton Rock by Graham Greene in its exceedingly rare dust jacket ($115,000);



An excellent first edition of Gulliver’s Travel by Jonathan Swift in a contemporary binding ($162,500).

Pom Harrington, the owner of Peter Harrington, says “We are bringing with us close to one hundred fascinating rare books and manuscripts specially selected to be of interest to visitors to the Fair. Our selection includes remarkable works by Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Ian Fleming, Graham Greene and Jonathan Swift.

Do come and visit us and see these unique books if you can.”

The New York Book Fair is being held at Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York, between 66/67 Streets. It is open from noon-8pm on Friday March 8th, noon-7pm on Saturday March 9thand noon-5pm on Sunday March 10th. The Preview will take place on Thursday March 7thfrom 5pm-9pm. Peter Harrington will be on Stand D17. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/2019/02/peter-harrington-to-exhibit-twain-lovelace-swift-at-thenyabf.phtml

Peter Harrington Rare Books is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association and offers an ‘unconditional guarantee’for each item it sells on its authenticity and completeness, as described.

Image: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1885) $195,000. First US edition, first printing, presentation copy inscribed by Twain in the month of publication - "To Major J.B. Pond With the affections of Mark Twain Feb. 21/85".

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/2019/02/peter-harrington-to-exhibit-twain-lovelace-swift-at-thenyabf.phtml

February 26, 2019

Premier of the Booklyn Artists' Book Fair, March 9-10

By Staff Writer

New York — These are the voices of a new generation of young, contemporary artists who are bringing fresh vision to the creation of artists’ books. At the upcoming New York City Book & Ephemera Fair, March 9 & 10 at the Sheraton Central Park/Times Square Hotel, the work of these and over 40 other gifted artists and artists’ groups, will be featured in the premiere of the annual Booklyn Artists’ Book Fair, new fair-within-afair section devoted to artists’ books and zines.

It is the first fair of its kind in Manhattan to provide a cutting-edge alternative to the coinciding Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America Book Fair and to other art fairs happening during Manhattan’s Rare Book Week. The exhibition is curated and organized by Marshall Weber, co-founder of Booklyn, a non-profit artists’-run organization based in Brooklyn, that publishes, distributes and promotes artists’ books and zines. Booklyn actively maintains an exhibition program of prints and works on paper that addresses current social issues. All of the exhibiting artists are members of this organization.

Chilean-born, New York based artist, Maria Veronica San Martin, a studio artist at the Whitney Museum in 2017 &’18, evokes the urgency of history through its capacity to fade in memory. A major work, “In Their Memory: Human Rights Violations in Chile, 1973-1990, documents the erosion of memory deeply connected to the disappearance of War Victims in the Pinochet era. Her books take the form of sculptural memorials and spaces depicting absence, reflection and resistance. It is a protest, a cry from the heart, that asks us to remember, above all, and keep this urgent history with us as we fight against violence inherent in dictatorships today.

Pop-up artist, Colette Fu, creates exuberant, often very large, intensely colorful collapsible artists’ books that combine her own photography and paper engineering to tell a story. Fu was the recipient of a Fulbright Research Fellowship that enabled her to travel throughout China for six months, immersing herself in local regional cultures. “We are Tiger Dragon People” is a series of pop-up books that focus on the ethnic diversity of minority communities in Southwest China’s Yunan Province. Fu also explored the mountainous Yi landscape - a part of her own cultural heritage. An acquaintance from this region told her that there is an old https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/2019/02/premier-of-the-booklyn-artists-book-fair-march-9-10.phtml

February 27, 2019

Your Definitive Guide to New York’s 2019 Armory Show and Its Many Satellite Fairs There's a lot to see. Let us be your guide.

By Caroline Goldstein & Sarah Cascone

Armory Show 2017. Photo courtesy of Sean Zanni/PMC.

Get ready for a busy couple of weeks in New York.

Sure, there is a smaller pack of art fairs coming out of the gate this season than we’re used to. The team over at Collective Design decided to postpone what would have been the fair’s seventh edition after moving from Frieze Week to Armory Week last year. NADA, instead of staging a fair, is presenting a new initiative called the New York Gallery Open to lure visitors to spaces around the city. And VOLTA has been canceled to make room for Armory Show dealers who can no longer present at Pier 92.

But there’s still plenty to keep fairgoers busy. Here’s our guide on how to navigate it all.

https://news.artnet.com/market/2019-armory-show-1473475

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, March 7–10

Photo courtesy of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

If you watched the Netflix series You and felt the urge to peruse rare old books, you’ll delight with the more than 200 exhibitors at the ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Everything from maps to manuscripts, first editions and autographs are on display in this literary treasure trove.

Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue; $25 Preview Thursday, 5 p.m.–9 p.m.; Friday, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m–5 p.m.

https://news.artnet.com/market/2019-armory-show-1473475

February 28, 2019

Art Installations, Exhibits & Events Roundup to Add to Your List in March, 2019

By Staff Writer March is filled with exciting and insightful art shows, exhibits and installations including the annual Armory Show, Armory Week, ADAA, with its new component, the Upper East Side Gallery Walk, and the Affordable Art Fair. Foundations with extensive private art collections open their doors with new gallery space in Chelsea and the East Village, along with gorgeous, renovated space at the Ford Foundation. This month, we will celebrate Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s History Month, St. Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day, the Flower Show, The Orchid Show, and a Design Show. As we inch closer to Spring, here are a few suggestions for the month of March, from the 1st to the 31st.

https://gothamtogo.com/art-installations-exhibits-events-to-add-to-your-list-in-march-2019/

The 59th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair ~ March 7-10

From March 7-10, 2019 book lovers will find a fascinating treasure trove at the Park Avenue Armory. Over 200 American and international dealers will exhibit at The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, bringing a vast selection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera. The diversity of specialties includes art, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana, and much more.

https://gothamtogo.com/art-installations-exhibits-events-to-add-to-your-list-in-march-2019/

14 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — March 1, 2019

NEW YORK ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR Special Show Section

March 1, 2019 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 15

NEW YORK ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR Special Show Section

A Treasure Trove Of Books & More At The 59th NYC Antiquarian Book Fair

NEW YORK CITY — Join us at the 59th Annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue March 7–10.

A fascinating treasure trove awaits seasoned collectors as well as new visitors to this celebrated annual event at the armory. More than 200 American and international dealers will exhibit at the ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Rare, academic, fun, fiction, science fiction, mystery, first edi-

tions and rare bindings will be offered for sale.

Newcomers to the fair will discover that there is so much more than books. Maps, autographs, illuminated manuscripts, photographs, prints, ephemera, political and historic documents — lots of kooky, quirky, unexpected items will be shown as well. From art, religion and politics to cooking, sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll — centuries of culture will be on display.

First time visitors will be surprised to

DAVID BRASS RARE BOOKS, Calabasas, Calif. — Wilbur Wright’s Some Aeronautical Experiments.

This is a first edition, offprint issue, of the Wright Brothers’ first published report of their trial flights with motorless gliders at Kitty Hawk. Chicago: 1901.

learn there is an enormous range of pricing. Come explore and see that you can purchase thousands of items from $50 on up. There’s something for everyone’s passion and price range.

This book fair is officially sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. This means that the consumer can rely upon the experience and professionalism of participating dealers and the authentici-

DeWOLFE & WOOD RARE BOOKS, Alfred, Maine — A colorful Amana Society label for Indigo fabric. From the Amana Communal group in Iowa, circa 1890.

Michael Steinbach RARE BOOKS

Cabarett Fledermaus. 1. and 2. program (all published).

Vienna, Wiener Werkstätte, 1907. With coloured original lithographs and woodcuts by Oskar Kokoschka, Berhold Löffler, Fritz Zeymer and Moritz Jung. Illustrated original covers by Bertholf Löffler and Moritz Jung. Extremly rare.

Freyung 6/4/6 A – 1010 Vienna, Austria Tel. + Fax: +43-1-532 02 65 Cellphone: +43-664-35 75 948 Email: michael.steinbach@antiquariat-steinbach.com www.antiquariat-steinbach.com

ty of the items available for purchase.

Simply stated, all books, manuscripts and related material have been carefully examined for completeness and bibliographic accuracy.

The show is produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith & Associates.

We look forward to seeing you at the show.

For more information, 212-777-5218, www.nybookfair.com or www.abaa.org or info@sanfordsmith.com.

MICHAEL STEINBACH RARE BOOKS, Vienna, Austria — Cabarett Fledermaus, original lithographs and woodcuts by Oskar Kokoschka, extremely rare.

16 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — March 1, 2019

NEW YORK ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR Special Show Section

MICHAEL STEINBACH RARE BOOKS, Vienna, Austria — Cabarett Fledermaus, original lithographs and woodcuts by Oskar Kokoschka, extremely rare.

DAVID BRASS RARE BOOKS, Calabasas, Calif. — George Cruikshank [The Fairy Library]. A complete set of proofs on India paper of the 24 plates in the series, all inscribed in pencil: “From Geo. Cruikshank to his friend Fredk. Arnold.” London: 1864.

HORDERN HOUSE, Sydney, Australia — Zaccaria Seriman’s Viaggi di Enrico Wanton (1764) imagining and illustrating a bizarre new world populated by monkeys in court dress. http://www.hordern.com/ details.php?record=3804572

DAVID BRASS RARE BOOKS, Calabasas, Calif. — Alberto Sangorski, calligrapher and illuminator. [Sangarski & Sutcliffe, binders]. Francis Bacon’s essay Of Gardens. London: Designed, written out and illuminated by Alberto Sangorski, 1905.

DeWOLFE & WOOD RARE BOOKS, Alfred, Maine — A copy of Silk’s Street Directory of New York… New York: J. Silk, 1896.

The beautiful edition of the 5th-century author Macrobius’ work printed in Brescia in 1483 contained the earliest printing of his remarkable world map, dividing the spherical world into five climate zones.

MACROBIUS, Ambrosius Theodosius. In somnium Scipionis expositio. Saturnalia.

Small folio (302 x 198 mm); a fine, large copy in handsome Regency russia leather.

Brescia, Boninus de Boninis, 1483. The Syston Park copy. $150,500.00

Stand E19 :: phone for the fair +61 416 299 022 255 Riley Street, Surry Hills, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia www.hordern.com :: rare@hordern.com :: +61 2 9356 4411

HORDERN HOUSE, Sydney, Australia — Hildebrand Bowman and his Travels (1778), a fantasy account of Cook’s second voyage: cannibals and flying prostitutes. http://www.hordern.com/details.php?record=3708119

HORDERN HOUSE, Sydney, Australia — Francisco Novelli’s Venetian album with 46 fine watercolors (1795 onwards): theatre, commedia dell’arte, juggling, acrobatics, mountebanks. http://www.hordern.com/details. php?record=4504048

DeWOLFE & WOOD RARE BOOKS, Alfred, Maine — The Old American Comic Almanac, 1840. Boston: S.N. Dickinson, 1839. Very good condition with a raised library stamp on the front page.

March 1, 2019 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 17

NEW YORK ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR Special Show Section

An English Anti-Slavery Almanac The Uncle Tom’s Cabin Almanack or Abolitionist Memento. London: John Cassell, 1853. 70 pp. with several extra illustration bound in the rear. Ex-library with a bookplate of James William Ellsworth who was a successful Pennsylvania industrialist and collector. Lacking wraps and there is a library stamp on the title page. Bound in a later hardcover binding. A surprisingly scarce anti-slavery almanac with 5 copies located in American Libraries. This copy has additional illustrations bound in the rear including what may be a cut down print or illustrated broadside entitled Separation of the Mother & Child. Only one copy has appeared at auction in 70 years.

An Early Edition of a Book on Mixed Drinks Lawlor, C.F. The Mixicologist or How to Mix all Kinds of Fancy Drinks.

[Cincinnati: Lawlor and Co.] For Sale by the Robert Clarke Company, 1895.

174 pp. This edition of 174 pages is apparently not recorded with OCLC locating two other 1895 editions of 170 and 145 pages. Lawlor’s book provide recipes for a variety of mixed alcohol based drinks, Temperance drinks and even recipes for food.

Please visit our booth at E-29

DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books P.O. Box 425, Alfred, ME 04002

(207) 490-5572 www.dwbooks.com

A Carte de Visite of Freed New Orleans Slave Children Entitled “Our Protection”, this photograph shows Rosa, Charley and Rebecca wrapped in an American flag. They were freed from slavery in New Orleans. This photograph and others like it were used to hint at the sexual exploitation of slave women by white masters. Taken by Charles Paxson of New York in 1864.

March 1, 2019

NYC Rare Book Week

By Staff Writer NEW YORK ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR Sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, the NYABF opens with a preview Thursday evening, March 7, and runs through Sunday, March 10, at the Park Avenue Armory at 643 Park Ave. Over 200 American and international dealers will display an astonishing array of rare books, fine art, maps, manuscripts, and ephemera. Plus, a lecture series on Saturday, 1-6 P. M., and “Discovery Day” appraisals on Sunday, 1-3 P. M. Admission: $60 for preview pass, $45 run of show, $25 daily, $10 for students carrying a valid school ID. For more information, visit nyantiquarianbookfair.com.

HIGHLIGHTS

In case you haven’t heard, tarot is hot again, which makes this highlight from ANTIQUARIAT STEFFEN VÖLKEL GMBH timely as well as beautiful. Here we have all seventy-eight colored woodcut cards from Andreas Benedict Göbl’s famous tarot for the wedding of Emperor Joseph II with Maria Josefa of Bavaria. Made in Munich in 1765. Price: $16,500.

COURTESY OF ANTIQUARIAT STEFFEN VÖLKEL GMBH.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/1702/rare-book-week-1.phtml

LUX MENTIS BOOKSELLERS puts the spotlight on Timothy Elyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bones of the Book: An Oblong Identity, a one-of-a-kind manuscript book of elaborate painted and drawn folios contained within a finely crafted binding. Price: $100,000.

COURTESY OF LUX MENTIS BOOKSELLERS.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/1702/rare-book-week-1.phtml

Hungary’s FÖLDVÁRI BOOKS, which specializes in avant-garde and modern art and literature, will bring the extremely scarce, first English edition of Friedrich Engels’ first book, The Condition of The Working Class in England(1887). Price: $20,500.

COURTESY OF FÖLDVÁRI BOOKS.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/1702/rare-book-week-1.phtml

ANTIQUARIAAT DE ROO, the Dutch bookselling firm, will exhibit this beautifully hand-colored and richly illustrated edition of a large print bible named Groot Waerelds Tafereel, printed in Amsterdam in the early eighteenth century. Price: $38,500.

COURTESY OF ANTIQUARIAAT DE ROO.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/1702/rare-book-week-1.phtml

Johannes Ketham’s famously illustrated early medical book, Fasciculus Medicinae, printed in Venice in 1500 and bound in eighteenth-century half-vellum, will be offered by the Parisbased LIBRAIRIE AMÉLIE SOURGET. Price upon request.

COURTESY OF LIBRAIRIE AMÉLIE SOURGET.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/1702/rare-book-week-1.phtml

Also coming in from Paris, to be found in LIBRAIRIE CAMILLE SOURGET’s booth, is an exceedingly rare suite of watercolors depicting games and entertainments in Tuscany in the eighteenth century, executed by Giuseppe Piattoli for Trattenimenti e Feste Annue …

(Florence, 1790). Price: $63,000.

COURTESY OF LIBRAIRIE CAMILLE SOURGET.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/1702/rare-book-week-1.phtml

March 1, 2019

The 59th Annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair

By Staff Writer The 59th Annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair takes over the Park Avenue Armory. Enjoy a vast selection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera. The diversity of specialties includes art, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana, and much more.

For more information, visit http://www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com/

https://www.mbs.org/calendar/2019/3/7/abaa-antiquarian-book-fair-new-york-city

March 3, 2019

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

By Staff Writer

COURTESY OF LUX MENTIS BOOKSELLERS.

Sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, the NYABF opens with a preview Thursday evening, March 7, and runs through Sunday, March 10, at the Park Avenue Armory at 643 Park Ave. Over 200 American and international dealers will display an astonishing array of rare books, fine art, maps, manuscripts, and ephemera. “Discovery Day” appraisal event on Sunday, 1-3 p. m. Admission: $60 for preview pass, $45 run of show, $25 daily, $10 for students carrying a valid school ID.

https://www.rarebookweek.org/newyork/fairs.html

March 4, 2019

New York Book Fair

By Staff Writer

Photo: Courtesy Antiquariat Steffen Völkel, Booth E39 ‘The first American binding with the arms of the United States of America: First book edition of George Washington’s last speech in Congress together with his Farewell Address’ Philadelphia, Sweitzer & Ormrod (December 10th, 1796)

From March 7-10, 2019 book lovers will find a fascinating treasure trove at the Park Avenue Armory. Over 200 American and international dealers will exhibit at The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, bringing a vast selection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera. The diversity of specialties includes art, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana, and much more.

https://www.evensi.us/york-book-fair-international-antiquarian/291604034

March 4, 2019

The Mopelia Collection of Fine Atlases and Travel Books at Christie's

By Staff Writer

London - In anticipation of the Antiquarian Book Fair in New York, Christieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is pleased to showcase highlights from Beyond the Horizon: The Mopelia Collection of Fine Atlases and Travel Books. This is an opportunity for explorers, sailors, distinguished collectors and all those who love global navigation, to view and acquire some of the most valuable maps and atlases of all time. Rare and in great condition, the collection contains nearly 200 lots of important travel books covering all corners of the globe with a strong emphasis on all matters maritime. Highlights include Orbis Terrarum Nova et Accurata Tabula, a striking map of the world surrounded by allegorical scenes of the four seasons, illustrated above, and Johannes van Keulen's De Groote Nieuwe Vermeerder-de Zee-Atlas ofte Water-Werelt. Published in Amsterdam in 1688, the latter is a handsomely engraved and beautifully hand-coloured example with the frontispiece and maps highlighted in gold, perhaps one of the greatest 17th-century Dutch sea-atlases to come to the market in recent years.

A global tour of the Mopelia Collection will begin in New York from 4-7 March, to be exhibited alongside Luca Pacioliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Summa de Arithmetica (see separate press release here). Highlights will then be on view in Paris and London to coincide with international fairs for maps and atlases before being offered at auction in London on 5 June.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/2019/03/the-mopelia-collection-of-fine-atlases-and-travel-books-atchristies.phtml

Further highlights include a striking map of the world surrounded by allegorical scenes of the four seasons, entitled Orbis Terrarum Nova et Accurata Tabula by Gerard Valk (1652-1726) and Leonard Valk (1675-1746) and a hand- coloured copy of Hendrick Doncker’s constantly evolving sea-atlas De Zee-Atlas of WaterWaerelt.

Julian Wilson, Senior Specialist, Books & Manuscripts, London comments, “The Mopelia Collection’s geographical reach is truly global, with atlases and sea-charts covering the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, as well as polar exploration in the Arctic. It has wonderful works with fascinating associations, including a copy of Blaeu’s Flambeau de la Navigation (Amsterdam, 1620) that was owned not only by the famous French astronomer Peiresc, known for his work on longitude, but also later by the great circumnavigator Freycinet. In addition, there are the great 18th-century works by Cook, Vancouver and La Perouse, as well as a collection of 4000 natural history watercolours. For breadth, scope and quality, the Mopelia Collection is of the finest such collections to appear at auction.”

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/2019/03/the-mopelia-collection-of-fine-atlases-and-travel-books-atchristies.phtml

March 4, 2019

The Critic’s Notebook By the Editors This week: Nostalgia in lit crit, a New York book fair, Anne Morgan’s wwi & more from the world of culture.

Books:

Photo: New York Antiquarian Book Fair.

“The 59th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair,” at the Park Avenue Armory (March 7 through 10): What do you call a gathering of more than two hundred rare, unusual, and antique books dealers, all at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan? If you’re a bibliophile, you might call that heaven on earth. But like all good things this side of paradise, this temporary bookstore and book lovers’ conference won’t last long: get tickets now for the event, open Thursday through Sunday, with special programs on Saturday afternoon and “Discovery Day” on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m., when collectors can bring up to five books to be evaluated by experts. —HN

https://newcriterion.com/blogs/dispatch/the-critics-notebook-10576

March 5, 2019

A First for Women at Peter Harrington’s

By A.N. Devers A week ago on Tuesday, February 26, Peter Harrington, the distinguished London rare book firm, marked its 50th year by launching In Her Own Words: Works by Exceptional Women, an exhibition of its new catalogue of works by women, a first in the firm’s history.

To a bustling crowd of press at a breakfast in the morning, and bibliophiles and collectors in the evening, staff briskly opened glass cabinets in order to show off their favorite items. Put together by Harrington booksellers Theodora Robinson and Emma Walshe, the books and items featured in the exhibition highlight the work of women in a variety of fields, but what brings them together, they note in their introduction, is that “these were women who pushed legal, intellectual, and and physical boundaries.”

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine_books_blog/2019/03/a-first-for-women-at-peter-harringtons.phtml

The catalogue overflows with signed and presentation copies of women who broke boundaries and ceilings, pursued freedom, civil rights, equality, from Charlotte Perkins GiImanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feminist Utopian novel Herland -signed to Californian suffragette Alice Locke Park -- to two inscribed works by Dorothy Parker (who left her estate to the NAACP) to renowned screenwriter Frances Marion to great, but overlooked women in science, like Ada Lovelace and Rosalind Franklin, whose contributions are still debated today.

There are also tremendous association copies, including a copy of Sappho given by Samuel Taylor Coleridge to his daughter Sara.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine_books_blog/2019/03/a-first-for-women-at-peter-harringtons.phtml

One related item crossing the ocean this week to be at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is Giovanni Boccaccio’s De claris mulieribus, second edition, dating to the mid-15th century, which is the first collection of biographies devoted exclusively to women. They’re also bringing one of (!) their rare Lovelace volumes, a first edition of the paper she wrote, annotated by her math tutor.

There’s also a Pank-a-Squith gameboard, which is difficult to find with its suffragette game pieces, a rare hand-painted WSPU donation tin, and a Women’s Freedom League sash, once owned by the suffragette Hodgson sisters.

As we approach International Women’s Day on March 8, many booksellers are honoring the much overlooked work of women, including Alembic Rare Books and Deborah Coltham, who are issuing a joint catalogue of women in science. Bernard Quaritch also published a catalogue focused on “Women.” And it’s worth noting that the next catalogue of women’s work issued by book dealer Elizabeth Crawford will be her 200th.

The exhibition of work is on display at Peter Harrington through Friday, March 15 at its shop located at 43 Dover Street.

Images, from top: Joséphine Baker: Felix Achille de la Cámara; Pepito Abatino. Mon sang dans tes veines.

Paris: Les editions Isis, 1931. Ada Lovelace: Menabrea, Luigi Federico. Sketch of the Analytical Engine invented by Charles Babbage, Esq. With Notes by the Translator. Franz von. Kleist’s translation of Sappho.

Giovanni Boccacchio. De claris mulieribus. Strassburg: Georg Husner, about 1474-75, not after 1479. All credit: www.peterharrington.co.uk.

A. N. Devers is a long-time contributor to Fine Books and owns The Second Shelf, a new London bookshop of rare books, first editions, and rediscovered work by women. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine_books_blog/2019/03/a-first-for-women-at-peter-harringtons.phtml

March 5, 2019

Ultimate Guide to the NYC Art Fairs of Armory Show Week 2019

By Pat Rogers New York is gearing up for the arrival of The Armory Show and Armory Week held in New York City.

ADAA’s The Art Show has already come and gone with Armory Show Art Week launching Tuesday night with the first art fair previews. This year’s art fair week is decidedly thinner with NADA New York, Volta New York and Collective Design dropping from the mix. Still, there more than enough art fairs and art to go around. Set in neighborhoods across New York City, visiting all of them still presents its charm and challenges.

For easier planning, we’ve put together the 2019 Ultimate Guide to Armory Show Week.

By Sunday night, the March Art Fair Week in New York will be gone so catch the art excitement while you can. Fairs are presented in date order according to when the VIP Previews are held.

7. New York Antiquarian Book Fair March 7 to 10, 2019 Preview: Thursday, March 8 from 5 to 9 p.m.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair joins in Armory Week fun to present its 59th edition at Park Avenue Armory located at 643 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065. A Preview will be held on Thursday, March 8, from 5 to 9 p.m. Over 200 American and international dealers will exhibit, bringing with them a selection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera. Expect to find topics in art, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana and more among the offerings.

Hours: Friday from noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Admission: Daily tickets are $25 or $10 for students with Run of Show tickets costing $45. A Preview Pass is $60 and includes one day of fair attendance.

New York Antiquarian Book Fair is presented at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065. www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com.

https://hamptonsarthub.com/2019/03/05/art-fairs-ultimate-guide-to-the-nyc-art-fairs-of-armory-week-2019/

https://hamptonsarthub.com/2019/03/05/art-fairs-ultimate-guide-to-the-nyc-art-fairs-of-armory-week-2019/

March 6, 2019

We Hearâ&#x20AC;Ś

By Staff Writer

That the Poets & Writers Dinner at 583 Park Ave. will honor poet Reginald Dwayne Betts, while the New York Antiquarian Book Fair happens at the Park Avenue Armory . . .

That store Bandier raised $34 million from Eurazeo Brands and tapped Adrienne Lazarus as new CEO.

https://pagesix.com/we-hear/

March 7, 2019

10 Things To Do This Weekend

By Vanita Salisbury

Events to check out this weekend, March 7 to March 10.

1. Celebrate 25 years of the Armory Show.

Break out the comfy kicks, art lovers (and according our critic Jerry Saltz, pack snacks and breath mints), it’s Armory Show week. The behemoth itself is now on Piers 90, 92 ,and 94 (with a shuttle running in between), but all the major players are still there, including this year’s “Focus” section, curated by Lauren Haynes of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. When you’re done with all that head to the satellite fairs: cutting-edge works at theIndependent on Varick Street; exhibits with the theme “fact and fiction” at Spring/Break, this year at the U.N. Plaza; 60 international exhibitors at Scope, at the Metropolitan Pavilion; and the self-explanatory Art on Paper at Pier 36. Buy tickets ahead of time to avoid lines.

2. Dance on your own, with pop queens.

Get your double dose of ladies who pop when Kelly Clarkson comes through Long Island tonight on her Meaning of Life Tour, joined by Kelsea Ballerini and Brynn Cartelli, the winner of the last season of NBC’s The Voice. Also, remember when Taran Killam lip-synced “Call Your Girlfriend” one late night in the offices of SNL, with matching dance choreography and belly-bearing fuzzy top? (The part where exhausted Bobby Moynihan & Co. light the dance floor with flashlights is really the best.) This Friday you can be like Taran when Robyn, she of the deeply felt dance music, performs at MSG in support of last year’s excellent Honey, her first album after an eight-year hiatus.

3. Catch talent on the way up.

When the long-running CMJ music festival shut down a few years ago, it left a guitar-shaped hole in our music-loving hearts. Through Sunday, the New Colossus Festival steps in, and for a $50 pass, you can hop between six venues on the Lower East Side and check out over 100 acts, many before they head to SXSW, like Glasgow’s fast-rising the Ninth Wave, blending light and dark and sonic reverberations. Plus panels with names like “Navigating the Labyrinth: U.S. Visas for Artist”s and “Erasing the Stigma: Mental Health and the Musicians’ Community.” And if you’re looking for some new comedy, this week at the Creek and the Cave is Jordan Temple, comedian and writer on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Shows run through Sunday and tickets are only $5. In a tribute to Temple’s late friend, comedian and bird lover Kevin Barnett (a.k.a. Bird Luger), all proceeds benefit the American Bird Conservancy.

http://www.grubstreet.com/2019/03/weekend-agenda-march-7-to-10.html

4. Celebrate International Women’s Day. Friday is International Women’s Day, a day of solidarity and recognition of gender disparity dating back to the early 1900s. While you probably celebrate it every day, there are a few special happenings tomorrow.

Wake up early for country star Maren Morris, who performs a free Today show concert in honor of the day, then stop by DŌ (a female-owned desert shop with 85 percent female staff) for one-day-only ice-cream flavor called Glass Ceiling, with 20 percent off each scoop, and proceeds donated to the nonprofit Catalyst.org, dedicated to the progress of inclusion of women in the workplace. From 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., stop by the Marmara Hotel Park Avenue for a panel discussion with women leaders like Stephanie Prida, pastry chef at the Grill, the Pool and the Lobster Club, and CEO and co-founder of Unbound Polly Rodriguez discussing how they broke through barriers in their careers ($25 tickets include an open bar, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction). Then top it all off with Ladies First: A Dance Party Celebrating Badass Women of Music at Littlefield, featuring the beats of all of your favorite lady musicians. Tickets are just $10, and 100 percent of the profits go to Planned Parenthood.

5. Examine some really old stuff.

Calling all bibliophiles! Find something told to love at the Antiquarian Book Fair, happening through Sunday at the Park Avenue Armory. Learn to drink like our forefathers from the 1895 edition of The Mixicologist or How to Mix all Kinds of Fancy Drinks, which includes early on a recipe for a “morning cocktail” with absinthe, brandy, and whiskey. (Fun fact, 1895 was also the the first time the word brunch came into use.) Then take a gander at treasures like an inscribed first U.S. edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (going for $195,000), a first edition of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock with its original dust jacket ($115,000), and an architectural archive featuring Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel’s sketches for the Statue of Liberty. On Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., you can also bring your own rare works, Antique Roadshow–style, for experts to appraise for free.

6. Eat a hip-hop inspired meal.

Dust off the Timbs this Saturday at Ginny’s Supper Club when Executive Chef Edward Brumfield hosts a Big Poppa–themed installment of his “Chef Ed’s Mixtape Dinner,” marking 22 years since we lost the Notorious B.I.G. Pay tribute with à la carte dishes like the “Mo Money, Mo Caviar” (smoked trout, “wonder bread,” wasabi aioli, and beluga caviar), and the “Girls Used to Diss Me” cocktail (vanilla vodka, guava, pineapple, and sour sap). The night is hosted by Hot 97’s Shani Kulture, with music by DJ Mister Cee, one of Biggie’s original DJs, plus Darren Isaiah, Rian Wild, and ’90s R&B hits by DJ Masai. We’d make a reservation, but walk-ins welcome.

7. Snack on pastries for a cause.

Enjoy pastries and like doing good? This Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the International Culinary Center is Pastryland, a magical-sounding charity bake sale benefiting Hot Bread Kitchen, a nonprofit social enterprise with a mission to create economic opportunity through careers in food. Have baked goods by chefs from Bien Cuit, Bâtard, Patisserie Chanson and more, with tickets sold in time slots for $15 (a portion of which you can use toward delicious goodies), or a $50 VIP ticket that also includes a meet-and-greet with some of the chefs. Bring your sweet tooth.

8. Set your intentions.

Whether or not The Secret is your thing (even though you know you’ve watched it), there’s a reason it helped so many: It focused them on their intentions. See how the Tibetans manifested positive change at “The Power of Intention: Reinventing the (Prayer) Wheel” at the Rubin Museum, bringing together traditional and contemporary art to form the link between intentions and actions, inspired by the ritual Tibetan prayer wheels, which contain written prayers and mantras. Then try your hand at activation with the interactive Wheel of Intentions exhibition. Hey, you never know.

http://www.grubstreet.com/2019/03/weekend-agenda-march-7-to-10.html

9. Scratch a theater itch.

You may not have gotten tickets to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Off Broadway run of Fleabag at the Soho Playhouse (but keep trying! More tickets may become available), but you can still see Suicide Forest at the Bushwick Starr, about identity and the power of the Aokigahara forest in Japan, notorious for suicides.

There’s also still time to catch Choir Boy, the mellifluous new play by Moonlight’s Tarell Alvin McCraney, which closes this weekend, and the Wooster Groups’s The B-Side: Negro Folklore From Texas State Prisons, at St. Ann’s Warehouse. That runs through March 31.

10. Maximize Saturday night.

Don’t forget, daylight savings time begins this Sunday. You’ll lose an hour, which means maximizing every hour on Saturday night. Lucky for you, this week we published our Best of New York issue, with plenty of new eating, drinking, and dancing options, including top-notch non-boozy cocktails, an intriguing Japanese restaurant that turns into a nightclub on weekends, and the city’s only sake brewery. Pick one or more, and make it count.

http://www.grubstreet.com/2019/03/weekend-agenda-march-7-to-10.html

March 7, 2019

2019 NYC Antiquarian Book Fair (Through Sunday, March 10)

By Staff Writer Date: 03/07/2019 - 03/10/2019 Time: All Day Location: Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Ave., Manhattan) Price: $25 in advance

http://www.niftynyc.com/events/2019-nyc-antiquarian-book-fair-through-sunday-march-10/

March 7, 2019

Maria Popova - NYABF Mention

By Maria Popova

https://twitter.com/brainpicker?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

March 7, 2019

10 Things to Do This Week in NYC: March 8th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; March 14th, 2019

By Staff Writer

Dinosaurs, sci-fi radio shows, abandoned hospital tours, antique book fairs and more fill the calendar of events for this week in New York City. Check out our Untapped picks for the most exciting and unique things to do: Friday, March 8th Check out the 25th anniversary of The Armory Show at Piers 90, 92, and 94, for a look at 194 art galleries from all over the world. Founded in 1994, The Armory Show is a premier art fair that has become a leading cultural destination for discovering and collecting the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important 20th and 21st century art. The show will run through March 10th, 2019.

https://untappedcities.com/2019/03/07/10-things-to-do-this-week-in-nyc-march-8th-march-14th-2019/

Saturday, March 9th Celebrate the art of books at the 59th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair inside the Park Avenue Armory. Over 200 American and international dealers will exhibit rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera. at the fair. The fair is officially sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, so collectors can shop with confidence in the authenticity of the items available for purchase. The fair will also host a full of programming with panels on home libraries, special collections, Explore the abandoned hospital complex on the south side of Ellis Island with our behind-the-scenes hard hat tour. Access areas of the 29-building compound that have been off-limits to the public for over sixty years and view a site specific art installation by world renowned artist JR. Uncover the secrets of Grand Central Terminal on Untapped Cities’ signature walking tour. Hear tales of feuding architects, ingenuity, rejuvenation, secrets and surprises from throughout the station’s nearly 150 years of history. Find out how this gorgeous Beaux Arts structure overcame a struggle to be saved and restored while seeing hidden treasures that you may never notice otherwise, from private tennis courts to a major flaw in the design of the main atrium.

Sunday, March 10th The New York City subway system is the largest in the world and with hundreds of art installations scattered throughout its 430 stations, it’s also one of the world’s largest public art galleries. Join Untapped Cities tour guide Justin Rivers as he takes you on an in-depth Underground Art Tour of the New York City Subway put together to illuminate the often unseen art, history, and secrets that make the subway system the most playful gallery in the world.

Monday, March 11th Helping to kick off celebrations for the 150th Anniversary of the American Museum of Natural History this year, the museum will be opening a new exhibit, T. Rex: The Ultimate Predator. The centerpiece of the exhibit is the most accurate model of T. Rex to date, and it has feathers! The exhibit also features an immersive virtual reality experience, a giant T. Rex fossil skeleton that comes to life video video projection, and digital interactive learning stations spread throughout.

Tuesday, March 12th Celebrate Women’s History Month at the Apollo’s Wow – Women of the World Festival. From Tuesday through Sunday, March 17th The Apollo will host “workshops, activities, programming, and performances with artists, community leaders, writers, thinkers, activists, and leaders exploring a variety of issues across cultural, civic, and social boundaries with a focus on empowerment and activism.” Participants include Educator and Activist Angela Davis; Musician Alice Smith; Finance Expert Suze Orman; White House Correspondent April Ryan; Poet Nikki Giovanni and more.

Enjoy dinner and a movie, at the same time, at Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park’s special screening of Clueless. Nitehawk’s Dinner and a Movie presentation will feature a three-course meal inspired by the film and prepared by Nitehawk and Sixpoint Brewery. Each course is paired with a Sixpoint beer and includes dishes like pimento cheese jalapeno poppers with a cheeto crust and a black bean patty served so-cal style with a Sixpoint Dabble.

https://untappedcities.com/2019/03/07/10-things-to-do-this-week-in-nyc-march-8th-march-14th-2019/

Uncover New York City’s buzzing bee industry at Landmark West’s Honeybee Hotel book talk with author Leslie Day. Day, who is also a New York City naturalist, will take guests through the history of city beehives from the first rooftop hives atop the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to the present day urban beekeeper culture.

Wednesday, March 13th Watch a live performance of X Plus One: The Improvised 1940s Sci-Fi Radio Show at New York City’s Caveat, a speakeasy styled bar that features a rotating line-up of intelligent nightlife. The show, which harkens back to the Golden Age of Radio, “when our heroes fought bravely against atomic saucers, ray guns, and metal men with their American can-do spirit,” features Jonathan Desley, Lou Fernandez, Matt Giroveanu, Geoff Grimwood, Austin Sanders, Jeff Scherer, and Rachel Scherer, with announcements, foley, and music direction

by David Armstrong. The show is directed by Kevin Laibson.

https://untappedcities.com/2019/03/07/10-things-to-do-this-week-in-nyc-march-8th-march-14th-2019/

March 8, 2019 到紐約國際古書展 品文學歷史之美

By Staff Writer

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/books/the-week-in-books.html

「新鮮的味道讓人沉醉，時間浸染過的物品更顯香醇」，一句話帶出古書的魅力，一年一度的紐約 國際古書展(New York Antiquarian Book Fair)再度登場，要帶來罕見的古書和珍貴的文字展品，讓人 盡享歷史和文學之美。 由美國古董書商協會(The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America)7日起舉辦第59屆紐約大型古 書展，有200家書商參展，提供稀有書籍、地圖、作家手稿等珍貴文本，還有愛書人著迷的初版印刷 品(first edition)、簽名書籍(signed)、精裝封套冊(items with dust jacket)以及相片圖冊(photo)等。 古書展策展人Sanford L. Smith表示，古書展不僅僅是賣書，更希望藉此傳達收藏、保護老書的重要； 古書展也獲得美國古董書商協會和國際古書商聯盟(International League of Antiquarian Booksellers)兩大 權威組織的專家認可，確認參展書籍完整保存、書目齊全，為買家們提供最高品質的體驗。 此次書展的一大亮點是一份1936年的電影劇本手稿和相關文件；原來這是去年上映，由Lady Gaga及 Bradley Cooper主演，叫好又叫座的「一個巨星的誕生」(A Star Is Born)最早的電影版本。 這次展出1936年「A Star Is Born」第一版檔案中，包括來自導演William A. Wellman及編劇Dorothy Parker的拍攝手稿、一張Fredric March飾演男主角Norman Maine的簽名照，以及該片獲頒奧斯卡最佳 編劇獎時的照片。檔案中也顯示，這部電影於1954、1976、2018年也分別拍攝過不同版本。 此外，古書展還有開價高達3000元的「123到動物園」(1,2,3 To The Zoo)，是1968年出版的童書，現 場展示的是作者簽名的第一版，還提供精美封套供收藏。 這本童書是藝術家Eric Carle第一本原創圖畫書作品，書中畫著一群動物乘坐火車前往動物園；全書 讓孩子即使沒有任何言語輔助，也能學習計算和認識數字意義，展開數學的初體驗。 古書展中也展出舊世代使用的膠片和郵票，其中包括1971年三個精細的16毫米膠片捲軸，當年被用 於拍攝第25屆東尼獎(Tony Awards )頒獎典禮；參展者也可在地圖類的圖片檔案中，探索美國土地開 發和銷售歷史，包括鐵路線、收費公路的使用狀況。 第59屆紐約國際古書展展至10日(周日)止，地點在公園大道軍械庫(Park Avenue Armory)，地址是公 園大道(ParkAve.)643號；更多古書籍資訊及購票問題，可上官網 https://www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com/查詢。

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/books/the-week-in-books.html

紐約國際古書展展出稀有書籍、地圖、作家手稿等珍品。（取自紐約國際古書展官網）

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/books/the-week-in-books.html

國際古書展是古書玩家一年一度的盛事。（取自紐約國際古書展官網）

第59屆紐約國際古書展展至10日，收藏家可到場選購珍貴骨董書。（取自紐約國際古書展官網） https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/books/the-week-in-books.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/books/the-week-in-books.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/books/the-week-in-books.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/books/the-week-in-books.html

March 8, 2019

literary luxuries: the joy of the antiquarian book fair

By Pamela Thomas-Graham

The 59th annual edition of the New York Antiquarian Book Fair is underway this weekend at the cavernous Park Avenue Armory. It’s another beloved spring happening in the city. If you’ve never been you, you probably have questions: What’s on sale? Who goes? What’s it like? Is anything actually affordable? Dear reader, we went to the VIP Preview. And we’ve got answers to all those questions and more. Here’s what you need to know about the annual Antiquarian Book Fair in New York City. It’s one of our favorite literary luxuries. the antiquarian book fair Every March, bibliophiles, curious minds, art lovers and those who love them convene for a weekend gathering in Manhattan. It’s the annual Antiquarian Book Fair, and it’s big fun for book lovers.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

Held in the Armory’s 55,000 square foot drill hall, one of the largest unobstructed spaces of its kind in New York, it’s a celebration of the written word and works on paper, and a reminder of the importance of preservation.

Walking through this fair is stimulating and educational. It’s also a playful treasure hunt and a chance to get lost in history and culture.

As one reporter aptly noted: centuries of culture [are] on display here. And unlike at a museum, here you can purchase something meaningful – something that resonates with you.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for sale?

The Antiquarian Book Fair is the place to find rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts, autographs, posters and ephemera.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

this year’s highlights Each year has particularly special items that are a great reminder of the role that books and printed matter play in our understanding of history. Here are 5 exceptional ones from this year: First, Paris bookseller Librairie le Feu Follet is offering a historic collection of early Japanese photographic images taken by Felice Beato.

The second is a remarkably rare first edition of the paper Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer, wrote. It belonged to her math tutor, who extensively annotated it ($325,000). You can find it at the booth of rare bookseller Peter Harrington, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Third, a lightly worn copy of the National Woman Suffrage Association’s 1876 Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United Statesis for sale through Whitmore Rare Books ($37,500).

Fourth, Walter Reuben Inc is offering a cinema memorabilia collection that shines a light on L.G.B.T.Q. performers in Hollywood’s early years ($95,000).

And finally, Read’Em Again Books has an early 19th-century Bible in which the Wilson family, owners of a plantation in South Carolina, detailed some of their slaves’ tragic fates ($30,000). a wide array of works and eras The variety of books and topics is part of the fun. It’s an eclectic selection of the type you won’t find in a typical bookstore. You can go from classic works from the Western Canon . . .

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The Antiquarian Book Fair in New York. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

To banned books from the World War II era.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

From stunning first editions and gorgeous leather-bound volumes . . .

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

To posters and bumper stickers from the protest movements of the 1960’s.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

something for every budget and interest There’s definitely something here for every taste, area of interest and budget. The specialties represented at the fair include art, film, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana, and children’s literature.

Some of the sellers make it clear that they have lots of inventory for beginning collectors – some volumes are under $100.

There’s also charming ephemera everywhere – found objects that might just speak to you.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

who are the sellers? a global array of booksellers and dealers At this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fair, over 200 American and international dealers are participating. We saw booths from England, France, Italy, Japan, Vermont, LA and Brooklyn.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

Each seller has their own vibe, and their enthusiasm for talking about books and works on paper is infectious.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

only authenticated merchandise The fair is officially sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

This means that buyers can rely on the experience of participating dealers and the authenticity of the items available for purchase. All books, manuscripts and related material have been carefully examined for completeness and bibliographic accuracy.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

who is buying?

This is not a fussy snooty crowd of people who look like they’d all be pipe smokers. That might be the cliche you have in your head when you hear “antiquarian books.” But dear reader, you’d be wrong.

You might be surprised at the diversity of the attendees at this event. Some seem to be already deeply expert collectors of rare books and manuscripts.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

Others seemed to be dipping a toe in the water, and asking lots of questions.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

Some overheard conversations seemed to be among academics and others who are at the fair on behalf of their clients or employers.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

And some are there for the fun of it. There’s no one reason to go, and no “right” way to experience this fair. https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

why should you go?

If you love books, culture, art and history, you’ll learn something new, be among like-minded people, and perhaps discover a treasure or two to bring home with you. the lectures On Saturday afternoon, there’s a series of lectures that are ideal for those who love books, or are just curious about the motivations of collectors and the current issues in the world of rare books and manuscripts.

This year, there are lectures on the topics Books, Estates, & Deaccession: Finding Your Library’s Next Home; The Pursuit and Use of Archives and Manuscripts; and An Introduction to Poster House, A New Museum in New York. the people-watching You’re in the middle of the Upper East Side. So you can expect to see lots of high fashion and chic ensembles, which is always fun.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

Happily, though, the crowd is really diverse. It feels like all of New York is represented somewhere in this epic gathering of bibliophiles.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

the joy of the treasure hunt You can choose to browse solo, and at your own pace.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

Or bring your BFF and explore together.

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2019. Photo Credit: Dandelion Chandelier.

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

logistical details This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fair runs from March 7-10, 2019 at the Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Avenue, at 66th Street.)

The VIP Preview pass is $60, and it also covers a repeat visit on one of the days while the show is still running. Daily admission is $25 ($10 for students with an ID). A run-of-show pass is $45.

What do you think? Are you in?

https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/03/08/literary-luxuries-the-joy-of-the-antiquarian-book-fair/

March 8, 2019

FRI-SUN, 3/8-10: SKINT WEEKEND

By Staff Writer scroll all the way down to the ‘all weekend’ section to find events that occur all weekend (some start friday), including armory arts week art fairs, highline open studios, book fairs, the new colossus music festival, and more. all weekend fri thru sun: save up to 50% on bicycles, accessories, and apparel at brooklyn bicycle co’s first-ever warehouse sale. brooklyn bicycle co. (greenpoint). >> fri thru sun: bibliophile alert! the 59th annual new york international antiquarian book fair (3/8-10, park avenue armory, $25 general/$10 students) and the annual new york city book and ephemera fair / brooklyn artist’s book fair (3/9-10, sheraton central park/times square, $15 general/free for students). fri thru sun: the annual armory arts week brings eight big art shows with hundreds of galleries to new york, including art on paper (discounted tickets here), clio, independent new york, nada, salon zürcher, scope, and spring/break. various locations and prices. hyperallergic rounds them up with other exhibitions here. >> fri thru sun: the new colossus festival and conference brings 100 bands to six east village and lower east side venues. various prices. >> fri thru 3/31: morrison hotel gallery presents ‘grunge: rise of a generation,’ an exhibition of photos from grunge’s heyday. morrison hotel gallery (soho), free admission. >> fri thru 5/4: girl scout cookies! get your thin mints, samoas, and more at pop-up store in east harlem (wedssun) and at a cookie truck hitting all five boroughs. >> sat + sun 12-6pm: step inside 40 artist’s studios across 11 buildings during the annual self-guided high line open studios. free. >>

https://theskint.com/fri-sun-3-8-10-skint-weekend/

March 8, 2019

59th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair 2019

By Staff Writer

http://nytcap.tumblr.com/post/183322411121/59th-annual-new-york-international-antiquarian

Via Flickr: VIP Preview Park Avenue Armory Manhattan NYC March 7, 2018

March 7-10, book and history lovers will find a fascinating treasure trove at the Park Avenue Armory. Over 200 American and international dealers will exhibit at The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, bringing a vast selection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera. The diversity of specialties includes art, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana, and much more.

The VIP opening included an open wine bar and sumptuous buffet, with champagne toasts at selected vendor booths.

Saturday, March 9, there will be special programs and lectures throughout the afternoon for collectors in numerous genres.

On Sunday, March 10, from 1pm-3pm, Discovery Day gives ticketed visitors the opportunity to bring their own rare books, manuscripts, maps, etc. (up to 5 items but no Bibles please) Exhibitors will be on hand to offer expert advice and free informal appraisals.

http://nytcap.tumblr.com/post/183322411121/59th-annual-new-york-international-antiquarian

March 8, 2019

USA NEW YORK BOOK FAIR

By Staff Writer

59th New York International Antiquarian Book Fair at Park Avenue Armory A piece by Joan Miro can be seen at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair at Park Avenue Armory in New York, New York, USA, 07 March 2019. The fair presents a vast material composed by rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, fine bindings, illustrations, historial documents and print ephemera.

https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LPOD&mid=sec&oid=091&aid=0007123305

March 9, 2019

Notebook: The Persistent Idyll of the Second-Hand Bookshop

By Staff Writer

A cheer went up on our block this week when we learned that the local used bookshop, Left Bank Books, was returning (not to be confused with the St. Louis Left Bank, which never left). The old Left Bank lived for many years in what is now a Riviera-themed wine bar with big plate glass windows, where its cool art (left side) and literary (right side) books, many from the fifties and sixties, used to tempt one in off the street. Then it moved to a closet a few blocks away (now specialty bedding), with worn oriental carpets and milk boxes full of books, where readers angled to move past one another down the little aisles (Alabaster, a few blocks east, captures the mood). Upon its closure almost exactly two years ago, its bookkeeper and administrator Margarita Danielian noted, “It’s a communal responsibility to keep small businesses in-business.” Jeremiah, of the blog Vanishing New York, put it more bluntly: the neighborhood “is getting stupider and shallower every day.” https://books.substack.com/p/notebook-the-persistent-idyll-of

But now they are back! The very couple of Left Bank staffers who said good-bye in this Instagram post—Jess Kuronen, who comes from an art and design background, and antiquarian bookseller Erik DuRon, who got his start at grey eminence Bauman Rare Books—have been nurturing the business in the interim as an online outlet and have finally found a space and a model to carry it forward. The new store is smaller and will have more limited stock—artfully selected used and rare books that reflect the store’s roots in the half-underground scene of literature, art, film, photography, fashion, design, etc., of what is now coming into focus as the “late twentieth century.” Their story traces some of the trajectories of used bookselling—its perils and possibilities.

We’ve talked quite a bit here about the vitality of independent retail bookselling (see our archive for past Notebook installments), but not so much its sibling, used and rare books. Enthusiasts of the one usually love the other, too, but note their differences. Retail booksellers are portals for publishers: their business is grounded in bringing you what publishers have to offer, their so-called backlists of already-published books of course but, most urgently, new books. Retail booksellers keep up with publishers’ catalogues and plan events around what is latest in the book world. When you buy a new book, a retail bookseller divides the sale with the publisher, and you are helping to pay the people who write and edit and in other ways create books. Retail bookselling has shown unexpected resilience in the face of online buying in part because readers seek out bookselling spaces as points of connection with books at their origins: connection with the expertise of the buyers and staff, the guidance of their selection and organization, the opportunities they create to meet writers and others from the book world, and the company of other readers who share these enthusiasms.

The world of the used and rare bookstore is similar but slightly different. Used and rare book dealers have searched the planet for second-hand books they think you will like (they take the financial risk of buying the book and keep the return when they sell it to you; there is no benefit to the author or publisher). Their focus is not on the new but often on the forgotten, the unnoticed. To visit a beloved used and rare bookstore is to enter a place that shelters the past, where things that are old and precious are protected from threats of time and commerce.

https://books.substack.com/p/notebook-the-persistent-idyll-of

Used and rare bookselling, like retail, has been profoundly altered by online shopping; also like retail in positive and negative ways. Booksellers and customers both now have the opportunity to search the whole world for a book, and prices overall have been driven down by the flood of competition. “The arrival of the internet was the defining moment of my career,” one bookseller has noted. “It allowed us to find clients we never knew existed.” In the nineties the platform AbeBooks rose up as a shared marketplace for used and rare booksellers; in 2008 it was purchased by Amazon, consolidating Amazon’s hold on the used book market in addition to the retail book market. (Readers looking for an alternative to Amazon for used books can try the independent Biblio.com.) Used booksellers, like retail, lament that the viability of their business is dependent on Amazon’s unilateral imposition of fees and restrictions (see this illuminating conversation among booksellers on Amazon’s seller site). Last fall Amazon threatened to exclude used booksellers in Czech Republic, South Korea, Hungary, and Russia altogether from the platform, and in a stirring show of unity booksellers around the world rose up solidarity and Amazon backed down. Adam Bosze, the president of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Hungary, said: “I would not have thought that we’ll succeed, but you showed the real meaning of our motto, ‘Amor librorum nos unit’” (the love of books unites us).

Used bookselling, like retail, has shown a striking resilience in the face of these threats. Some used and rare booksellers thrive online and persist without any physical presence at all except (often) their appearance at antiquarian book fairs around the country. One of the big book fairs is happening right now at the Armory in New York; LitHub offered this glimpse of some of the goodies you can find there. (Visit the Antiquarian Bookseller of America’s website for a schedule of books fairs in different places.) Many booksellers bring to the fairs books that will appeal to both the experienced collector and the less deep-pocketed visitor; there is plenty for the regular reader to love at an antiquarian book fair.

Although rising rents are, with Amazon’s muscle, perhaps the biggest threat to used bookselling, many booksellers still find benefit in a physical presence. There seem to be plenty of readers who are still happy to pay a bit more for a book that they stumble on in a wonderful store, even though with a little effort they could find it for less online. For certain not-too-cheap and not-too-expensive books the margins work best in a physical store. (There’s a scary extreme in the economics of bookselling, the penny-seller, that springs up in the soupy backwaters of this market.) Laying out their vision and taste in a physical store, as Kuronen and DuRon are about to do with Left Bank, also draws the notice of like-minded serious collectors, relationships that are an important component of the business model for used booksellers with an antiquarian bent. Kuronen and DuRon are also innovating by creating an electronic version, drawing on Kuronen’s design experience, of the beautiful physical catalogues that rare book dealers used to create for their more dedicated customers. And a physical store in a readerly neighborhood also becomes a magnet for those looking for a way to part with their books.

https://books.substack.com/p/notebook-the-persistent-idyll-of

Having the whole world of books ever published to choose from, the character of the proprietor of a used bookstore is perhaps even more salient than a retail one. Legendary Berkeley bookseller Peter Howard (more on him below) once said, “Used bookstores are always representative of and extensions of their independent owners’ personalities and utterly dependent upon their specific knowledge, non-transferable, earned over a lifetime.” The role of rare-book dealers as cultural guardians has recently been brought wonderfully into focus by the growing prominence of women antiquarian booksellers, whose mission of finding books that were never adequately supported by the publishing establishment fills a yawning gap on bookshelves. Rebecca Romney and Heather O’Donnell of Honey & Wax, in addition to taking care to stock their store with discoveries by women writers, have attracted notice by awarding an annual prize to a young woman book collector. Submissions for the 2019 prize were opened two weeks ago. (Romney incidentally offers these useful tips for taking care of your books.) Writer A. N. Devers has opened an online and pop-up bookshop in London devoted to the work of women called The Second Shelf. The Second Shelf also publishes an eponymous book-catalogue-cum-literary magazine. (The value of the printed record in retaining unheralded stories came to mind also listening to New York Times’s “archival storytelling editor” Veronica Chambers describe how the Times’s new series of “Overlooked” obituaries, obituaries of now-admired figures whose deaths went without notice at the time, arose from combing through the Times’s vast print archives.)

Notably two New York City stalwarts, whose longevity can be tied in part to a prescient decision a generation ago to buy their buildings, are operated by women: the Cohen sisters of midtown’s Argosy Book Store, who were memorably profiled in 2014 by Janet Malcolm (speaking of whom, see our recent piece by April Bernard), and Nancy Bass Wyden of the Strand, who has lately been in the news because of fears that obligations from a proposed landmark designation would threaten the razor-thin margins of her giant store, with its famous “eighteen miles” of books.

These figures join the ranks of memorable characters who populate the history of used and rare bookselling. One of the best loved was novelist Larry McMurtry, of Last Picture Show fame, who vowed that if he ever returned to the tiny town of his childhood, he'd bring a copy of every book he’d ever need.

After running a much admired bookshop in Washington, DC, for twenty years, he lugged all his books to tiny Archer, Texas, in the hope of creating a book town there like the legendary Hay-on-Wye in Wales. (For news of other American Hay-on-Wyes, see this recent story in Atlas Obscura.) When that didn’t quite pan out he folded up shop in an epic prairie sell-off.

When Peter Howard, of Berkeley’s Serendipity Books, died in 2011, his daughter reported “there are books everywhere. There is the store. There is the warehouse with almost as many books in boxes as in the store.

Then there is our house with bookshelves in every room, including the stairwell. He would often bring bags and bags of books home.” Fellow bookseller Stephen Gertz remembered Howard as he appeared in his native habitat: “He was standing in one of the aisles around 25 yards away from my vantage point and looked like an aged, unkempt and unshaven derelict marooned far too long, surviving on a diet far too short on calories … https://books.substack.com/p/notebook-the-persistent-idyll-of

He was wearing a sarong-like thing wrapped around his waist, sandals, a rumpled shirt and a knit cap with earflaps. It seemed as if he had just come off a three-day binge on arrack, the liquor made from coconut sap.”

Scott Brown of Eureka Books chronicled his dispersal of Howard’s inventory after his death in a series of blog posts that offer a peephole view into the combination of business acumen, cussedness, and wonder that go into a legendary career as a bookseller. In it Howard is quoted as saying, “I have made my business so big and so complex that no one in their right mind but me would ever want to take the responsibility for it.”

The stories of rare booksellers are in their way as eclectic and beguiling as the contents of their stores, and have been known to bleed into them. Photographer Franck Bohbot and author Philippe Ungar recently assembled a book of photographs of booksellers in situ. Novelists have weighed in, from early entry, 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, to tech afficionado Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.

Recently crotchety Scottish bookseller Shaun Blythell charmed readers with his Diary of a Bookseller (the female half of this story appearing in Jessica Fox’s Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets). In The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap, Wendy Welch offered insight into second-hand bookselling in a small Appalachian town. Book Riot cued up this beguiling journey through bookstores in movies. Considering the human work that brings books to life and the human characters that pass them, hand to hand and mind-tomind, to us, remember whom you are supporting when you buy a book and what sort of book world you would like to live in.

https://books.substack.com/p/notebook-the-persistent-idyll-of

March 12, 2019

Toy and Game Artifacts from the Antiquarian Book Fair

By Richard Gottlieb

Above is a beautiful toy magic set from the 19th century. The pieces, wool, wood, cloth and metal come in a beautiful wooden box.

Each year I enjoy attending the Antiquarian Book Fair, which takes place in New York City's Park Avenue Armory each Spring. It is an astounding collection of book dealers who exhibit not only rare books but antique maps, photographs, autographs, Americana, and even a few toys. Some of the artifacts are close to 1,000 years old and just about all are fascinating. Here are some pictures I took at the Fair.

https://www.globaltoynews.com/2019/03/toy-artifiacts-from-the-antiquarian-book-fair.html

Suffragette Game (see page 2 for close ups of the game)

Above is a game called Pank-a-Squith, a Suffragette game published in early 1900's England. The name stands for the first four letters of the Suffragette leader's name: Emmeline Pankhurst. The Squith was the last six letters of the name of the Prime Minister at that time: Herbert Asquith. Here is what I found on Google Arts & Culture: The colours of the militant suffragette movement, green, white and purple, are prominent on the 50 squares of the game which are arranged in a spiral. The aim of the game is to reach the central square which represents universal suffrage. A number of political events are represented, including suffragettes throwing stones through a window of the Home Office...and Emmeline Pankhurst slapping a policeman on the face...

https://www.globaltoynews.com/2019/03/toy-artifiacts-from-the-antiquarian-book-fair.html

The above artifact is a game / puzzle with some very weird images. There appeared to be about 5 wooden sets in the wooden box. The idea is to jumble them all up and then put them back together again.

The above is not a toy but it is a wonderful letter from the real Christopher Robin Milne.

https://www.globaltoynews.com/2019/03/toy-artifiacts-from-the-antiquarian-book-fair.html

Above is a game utilizing a silver ball and a track. It dates to World War I and the idea is to get to Berlin.

https://www.globaltoynews.com/2019/03/toy-artifiacts-from-the-antiquarian-book-fair.html

https://www.globaltoynews.com/2019/03/toy-artifiacts-from-the-antiquarian-book-fair.html

https://www.globaltoynews.com/2019/03/toy-artifiacts-from-the-antiquarian-book-fair.html

March 16, 2019

Robinson, il libro antico è per tutti

By Staff Writer

Sempre piĂš librerie dedicano uno spazio al libro usato, antico e raro. Ma a differenza di quello che si pensa, tutti possono diventare collezionisti senza bisogno di essere milionari. Come si incomincia? Quanto vale il libro della bisnonna? Quali sono i libri rari? Questa settimana Robinson dedica la copertina ai libri antichi partendo dall'Antiquarian Book Fair di New York, la fiera che riunisce ogni anno bibliofili e mercanti antiquari provenienti da tutto il mondo. Federico Rampini l'ha visitata e ce la racconta. Simonetta Fiori invece indaga il lato oscuro del mercato del libro: a partire dalla denuncia dello storico torinese Sergio Luzzatto, che ha deciso di dedicare trecento pagine alla figura di Massimo De Caro, lo spregiudicato mercante di libri che nellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Italia di Silvio Berlusconi diviene il direttore-saccheggiatore della Biblioteca dei Girolamini, a Napoli. Alessandra Roncato infine, in cinque punti ci racconta come si fa a muovere i primi passi nel mondo del collezionismo. https://www.repubblica.it/robinson/2019/03/16/news/robinson_l_antico_fa_il_bibliofilo-221744524/?refresh_ce

Tra le Storie, due italiani di fama internazionale, lo scrittore Alessandro Baricco e l'architetto Renzo Piano, si incontrano a Parigi in un dialogo curato da Anais Ginori. E ancora: i film da non perdere del Festival del cinema africano, d'Asia e d'America latina, in programma a Milano dal 23 al 31 marzo, con un'intervista di Marco Ansaldo a Bushra Rozza, attrice, produttrice e attivista egiziana specializzata in diritti umani delle donne e ora a capo di una delle giurie dell'evento.

Nelle critiche, Maurizio Crosetti recensisce il nuovo libro di Marc AugÊ, Chi è dunque l'altro?, edito da Raffaello Cortina. Lo scrittore Michele Mari parla del meridiano Mondadori, curato da Nadia Fusini, che raccoglie tutte le opere del grande poeta britannico John Keats.

Lo Straparlando di questa settimana è con Achille Mauri, erede di una famiglia di editori e artisti, oggi scrittore e presidente di Messaggerie Italiane.

https://www.repubblica.it/robinson/2019/03/16/news/robinson_l_antico_fa_il_bibliofilo-221744524/?refresh_ce

March 17, 2019

At a Rare Book Fair, the Prices Are Steep but the Lore Is Free A tour of the recent annual installment of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

By John Williams

The rare-books dealer Donald Heald displays a vividly illustrated book of East Indies marine life at the recent New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

There are countless books at the annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, of course, but also ephemera of all kinds: posters, pamphlets, calendars, playing cards. The price tags can be eye-popping â&#x20AC;&#x201D; by the end of a stroll around the fair, $2,500 for a beautiful old deck of cards started to sound, somehow, entirely reasonable. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

For people with modest bank accounts, a tour of the fair amounts to a trip to an exhibit or museum, with dealers happily telling the often fascinating stories behind their wares, even if a potential sale is nowhere in sight. The 59th edition of the fair took place March 7 to 10 at the Park Avenue Armory.

In the photo above, Donald Heald, a book dealer based just a few blocks from the Armory, displays the second edition of an 18th-century book by Louis Renard, with illustrations engraved after drawings by Samuel Fallours. Printed on high-quality Dutch paper, the book cataloged the riotous marine life of the East Indies, very little known to Europeans at the time. Some balked at the images, believing they must be fictional, but scientists have verified most of the species depicted (with the exception, Heald wryly noted, of a mermaid).

There were only 100 copies of this edition published, and the price tag for this copy at the fair was $145,000.

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

Ian Kahn of Lux Mentis Booksellers, in Portland, Me., talks to visitors at his booth, eclectic even by the steep standards of the fair. His display included an edition of James Joyce’s famously difficult “Finnegans Wake” created by the artist Ximena Pérez Grobet, who cut the novel’s text into strips and then knit them back together.

The result, Kahn said with a smile, is “every bit as significant and comprehensible as the original novel.”

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Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

Many of the books at the fair are not just limited editions, but truly one of a kind. Such is the case with this pontifical made for a bishop in Ferrara, Italy. This type of manual would normally be used for officiating at masses and other events. But this one, dating from circa 1460, was made purely for display, which accounts for why its condition remains so clean and vivid. Vincenzo Ferro of Bibliopathos explained that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the rare manuscripts thought to be illuminated in the workshop of Giorgio dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Alemagna and Taddeo Crivelli.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

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Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

Born in China in the late 19th century, Qiu Jin rebelled against the oppressive patriarchal society in which she found herself. In a recent obituary, part of The Times’s Overlooked project, Amy Qin wrote that Qiu was “an early and fierce advocate for the liberation of Chinese women, defying prevailing Confucian gender and class norms by unbinding her feet, cross-dressing and leaving her young family to pursue an education abroad.” She became such a revolutionary force that she was beheaded in 1907, accused of conspiring to overthrow the government. At the fair, the Brooklyn-based Honey & Wax Booksellers showed off a pamphlet published soon after Qiu’s death, which featured her own writing as well as remembrances of her. The portrait of her at right, above, was published under the words “Woman Warrior.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

When Adam Davis, who sells books and ephemera at Division Leap, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, turned to showcase various items in his booth, he said: “Follow me, and descend into the darkness of American history.” And sure enough, there was the archive of Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough, a pair of Ohio friends who performed as clowns in the early 20th century. Davis explained how McCullough checked into a sanitarium and later killed himself with a barber’s razor after getting his hair cut. Another archive documented the life and times of a man, also from Ohio (“really the eccentric birthplace of American art,” Davis said), who would high dive blindfolded, only to actually lose his vision from the accumulated pressure of the dives on his retinas.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

Davis flipped through the pages of this calendar, created by the artist George Knowlton to protest the mediaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coverage of the 1971 uprising at Attica prison. The illustrations are screened on to pages of The New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

When you think of the Jazz Age, Houston might not be the first place on which your mind alights. This scrapbook, assembled from 1926 to 1927 and also found at Honey & Wax, documents the senior year of Mary Jane Wiseman, a flapper in Texas. The book had preprinted illustrations in it, but Wiseman and her friends added to them with striking drawings of their own. There are also poems, stories about class outings, and tickets and other souvenirs. The keepsake sold at the fair for $2,500.

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

More conventional literary treasures could be found at Whitmore Rare Books, based in Pasadena, Calif. Dan Whitmore, the company’s founder, discussed a first edition of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” of which less than 300 were printed in 1855. “This was quite a format for an unknown guy,” Whitmore said. “It was bigger than any other book of poetry.” Whitmore said Whitman had strong opinions about every element of the book’s design, and was closely involved with the printing process. The gold gilded frame on the cover only existed on the first edition; it was removed on future editions to cut costs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

Whitmore’s first edition of T.E. Lawrence’s “Seven Pillars of Wisdom,” from 1926, is one of only 170 copies that were published with a complete set of illustrations. Lawrence inscribed this copy to his attorney, “with apologies for the trouble it is going to bring him.” It was prescient. As the description of the book on Whitmore’s website says, the lawyer would “ultimately need to handle legal issues related to trust and tax arrangements connected to the book's release.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/books/antiquarian-international-rare-book-fair-park-avenuearmory.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjohnwilliams&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&content Placement=1&pgtype=collection

An overhead view of the fair. Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

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March 18, 2019

New Zealand, Democratic Party, N.C.A.A.: Your Monday Evening Briefing

By Remy Tumin and Virginia Lozano Good evening. Here’s the latest.

Credit Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

9. We have book news in all shapes, sizes, ages and price points.

For most visitors, the annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is a chance to hear dealers share the fascinating stories behind their wares. But for collectors, it offers an opportunity to acquire books that are truly one of a kind (the asking price for an 18th century book on the marine life of the East Indies, above, was listed at $145,000).

We also have two book reviews on Supreme Court justices: “First,” a new biography of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the court, and “The Chief,” which examines Chief Justice John Roberts’s life and his career on the Supreme Court. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/briefing/new-zealand-democratic-party-ncaa.html

March 19, 2019

Sorry, Nobody Wants Your Parents' Books

By David Seideman

The other day I walked past two books on a Park Slope, Brooklyn sidewalk, a common sight in the neighborhood.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

“Please forgive the morbidity, but if you’re lucky enough to still have one or more parents or stepparents alive, it would be wise to start figuring out what you’ll do with their furniture, china, crystal, flatware, jewelry, artwork and tchotchkes when the mournful time comes,” wrote Richard Eisenberg in a helpful post addressed to Americans in their 50s and 60s.

The title: “Sorry, Nobody Wants Your Parents' Stuff.” Eisenberg, a fellow Forbes contributor, told the nightmare of unloading the “prized possessions” of his recently deceased 94-year-old father.

Another category that will exhaust your time and patience is books. In a previous post, Are Your Used Books Worth Anything?, I reported from an appraisal event at the recent Antiquarian Book Fair in Manhattan. One expert put the odds of finding a treasure in your home at one in a thousand.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/19/sorry-nobody-wants-your-parents-books/#1afcf236151a

Two valuable Hemingway early editions in the case of B&B Rare Books at the book fair.

The first printing on the left sells for $5,000. The first edition on the right, $1,750.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

If your books are printed after 1970s, missing dust jackets, or are book club editions, you’re out of luck; as were about 98% of the guests at the appraisal event.

I know from assisting my 93-year-old mother sift through her library that there’s no gold on them thar shelves.

One expert called an off-condition book “lamentable.” That’s a lofty word I’ver never heard at sports card shows, my regular beat, which roughly translates into worthless.

Another described a book with no monetary value as a “good reading copy,” which seems like a euphemism if you or anyone in your family isn’t interested in it.

A guest at the show looked crestfallen after her father’s five books yielded goose egg. A specialist tried to comfort her: “They should be loved by you and given out as gifts.”

But this seemed like a way a palming off your problem on family and friends. Books are very personal things.

I grew alarmed as the book-owners filed in and overheard one expert say that Housing Works is the only outfit that takes them anymore. Indeed the New York City-based non-profit profit fighting AIDs and homelessness welcomes copies in “salable condition.” It even has a “Bookstore Cafe made up of 100% donations!”

But from all accounts, Goodwill, Salvation Army, and your local thrift shops usually decline because books take up so much room and consumers’ tastes have changed in our digital age.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/19/sorry-nobody-wants-your-parents-books/#1afcf236151a

Sunday Steinkirchner, co-owner of B&B Rare Books, comforted a disappointed book owner at the appraisal event.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

There are two other book-friendly charities. “If you heart your books, set them free!” declares Better World Books, which promotes world literacy. (I have been a very satisfied buyer of their books on eBay.) Local church, library, and school fund-raisers still hold book sales. But they are often annual or bi-annual events and you have to time your donation to meet their schedule because they lack room for storage, so this option won’t work if you’re in a rush.

When I first watched the popular home-flipping TV show, Fixer Upper, a few years ago, I was shocked to see Joanna Gaines buying books at thrift shops to decorate homes based solely on their aesthetic appearance.

“Decorators will order feet of books,” Heather O’Donnell, co-owner of Honey & Wax Booksellers told me.

You’re apt to receive next to nothing, but will be ridding yourself of a nuisance without paying for rubbish removal. In highest demand for decorators are beautiful leather-bound books from the 19th century and earlier.

If you live in a city, you can put unwanted books out in your apartment lobby or in a box on your sidewalk .

In the Park Slope area of Brooklyn where I live I have acquired and read a multitude of fiction and nonfiction gems sitting on stoops.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/19/sorry-nobody-wants-your-parents-books/#1afcf236151a

A little lending library in the heart of Brooklyn.

PHOTO BY DAVID SEIDEMAN

A variation on this theme is the creation of a little lending library. If you can build a bird house, then it’s a snap. There are two of them within a few blocks of me. One has a glass door to protect the books from rain and snow. Lending is a bit of a misnomer. You’re welcome to take the books permanently. Or exchange one of your’s for one of their’s.

Barring all options, there is an earth-friendly solution. Most cities will let you recycle paper backs, but not hard covers. “More than 90 percent of printing and writing paper still comes from virgin tree fiber,” notes GrowNYC. “Using recycled materials to make new products saves energy and other resources, reduces greenhouse gases and industrial pollution, and curbs deforestation and damage to ecosystems.”

When recycling say a prayer to the old author and celebrate the next one by planting the seeds for his or her new creation.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/19/sorry-nobody-wants-your-parents-books/#1afcf236151a

In Coeur dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Alene, Idaho, a librarian named Sharalee Armitage transformed a 110-year-old tree into a little library.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LITTLE FREE LIBRARY

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/03/19/sorry-nobody-wants-your-parents-books/#1afcf236151a

March 19, 2019

Corrections: March 20, 2019

By Staff Writer ARTS An article on Tuesday about the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair misstated the words above the portrait of Qiu Jin in the pamphlet published soon after Qiu’s death. Though she is referred to as “woman warrior” elsewhere in the pamphlet, those are not the words that appear on the page with her portrait.

To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, complaints or other comments about our coverage, please email nytnews@nytimes.com or call 1-844-NYT-NEWS (1-844-698-6397).

Comments on editorials may be emailed to letters@nytimes.com or faxed to (212) 556-3622.

For newspaper delivery questions: 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) or email customercare@nytimes.com.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/pageoneplus/corrections-march-20-2019.html

March 24, 2019

The Week in Books The lives of Supreme Court justices, a poet’s treacherous trip to El Salvador, Mueller-related reading and more.

By Staff Writer

Credit: Clockwise from top left: John Duricka/Associated Press; Tom Brenner, via The New York Times; Associated Press; Mark Wilson, via Getty Images

Rare books and more We took a tour of this year's New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. On view? First editions of “Leaves of Grass” and an artist's interpretation of “Finnegans Wake.” The price tags were eye-popping — by the end, $2,500 for an old deck of cards started to sound entirely reasonable.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/books/the-week-in-books.html

March 26, 2019

All The World’s A Stage At Park Avenue Armory

By W.A. Demers

Show manager Sanford Smith and his son, Luc Bokor-Smith, freshly minted grad from Brown University who is forging his own creative path in electronic music and LED installations.

NEW YORK CITY – The bard himself, who would be a spry 455 years old this month, would have approved of the venerable New York International Antiquarian Book Fair – present in effigy, perched on a stool at the show’s entrance at the Park Avenue Armory. And why not? The undisputed supreme playwright and poet of the English language would be quite at home at what is considered by many to be the best antiquarian book fair in the world.

Produced by Sanford L. Smith + Associates, this show was back for its 59th edition March 7-10. It reliably attracts both bibliomaniacs and seekers of the odd bit of ephemera, presenting a staggering treasure trove of material ranging from rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents and print ephemera.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage-at-park-avenue-armory/

Not only do seasoned museum curators, connoisseurs and scholars prowl the aisles for five- and six-figure gems, but the show increasingly brings in younger collectors who are able to find the beginnings of a collection at accessible price points. On opening night, a cadre of uniformed West Point cadets could be seen shopping the show, brought down for a special outing by one of their instructors.

Officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), the show’s specialties – conveniently indexed in a comprehensive exhibitors directory – encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, culinary culture, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and more. Historic scrolls, academic papers, religious tracts, illuminated manuscripts were presented alongside modern material culture artifacts like signed editions of How to Get Rich by Donald Trump and celebrity-signed electric guitars.

For its 59th year, the fair presented its largest roster of exhibitors – 213 dealers, 145 booths, according to the show’s chairman Donald Heald – from around the United States and the world. About half the dealers were from the United States but there was also strong representation from Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and other European countries.

Hordern House, Sydney, Australia, was spotlighting Sydney Parkinson’s book on Cook’s first voyage, with the double set of plates, black and white and color. The book, published in 1784, is famous for its wonderful illustrations that include a series of portraits of Maori New Zealanders, which are especially striking.

Returning here for his fifth year was Herve Valentin of Walden Rare Books, Orleans, France. Valentin is president of Syndicat National de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne, the French arm of ILAB whose membership includes about 250 book, autograph and print dealers. Pointing out a couple of diminutive books in his showcase, both in Seventeenth Century fine bindings, Valentin said part of the reason he participates in shows like this and the Boston book fair is to “try to teach the ‘French taste.'”

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage-at-park-avenue-armory/

An early sale at DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books, Alfred, Maine, was a broadside detailing the last will and testament of Sir Timothy Dexter (1747-1806), a Newburyport, Mass., businessman noted for his writing and eccentricity. “The Dexter broadside sold first thing opening night,” said Scott DeWolfe. “The show was very strong with remarkably big crowds all three days. The show attracts rare book librarians from around the country, and there seemed to be more than ever and they were buying.” DeWolfe said he sees the fair bucking the trend of many antiques and book fairs, with the number of visitors going up. “We are also seeing more young people at this show and many were buying. It is a very good trend.”

Adding to the show’s success, DeWolfe added, is having two “shadow shows” – Getman’s New York Book & Ephemera Fair and Flamingo Eventz’s Manhattan Vintage Book, Ephemera and Fine Press Fair [both reviewed separately in this issue – Ed.] going the same week. “It helps broaden the appeal with the combined dealers offering material from $10 to more than $1 million, so everyone can afford to go home with something.

We sold books, broadsides, ephemera and even four Nineteenth Century soft paste children’s mugs that we took as decoration.”

Bart de Roo and his sister-in-law Nancy Schot were back again this year from the Netherlands with many Dutch rarities. One was a Seventeenth Century cadastral atlas, Landen van Voorne, a commission to the surveyor Heyman van Dijck to map the territory of Voorne (South Holland). Artist Romeyn de Hooghe was commissioned to decorate the maps, but executed just the title page, which the dealer had on view at his stand.

Typical of de Hooghe’s work, the example was rich in allegorical imagery and coats-of-arms. Established in 2004 and specializing in old and rare books printed before 1800, bibles, theology, hand colored works and globes, both terrestrial and celestial, are all part of the mix at Antiquariaat de Roo. The dealer had both globes that were fixed to stands as well as some terrestrial pocket globes, which are popular among collectors. A circa 1775 example housed in the publisher’s shagreen case with two metal clasps had been updated with all the latest discoveries at the time, including depicting California correctly as a peninsula.

From Vienna, Austria, Michael Steinbach showcased his collection of rare art books and illustrated volumes.

An emblematic book of the German Jugenstil, a 1900 title by Hugo von Vogeler-Hofmannsthal not only featured a title in vibrant gold, red, green, brown, violet and light blue, but its artistic design makes it one of the most desirable books of the early Twentieth Century. “The fair was well visited,” said Steinbach, “especially the first two days, there were many visitors and people interested in the books. I had the impression that most of the exhibitors were satisfied with the sales; for myself it was okay, maybe I would have liked to sell one of the highlights I had on offer.”

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage-at-park-avenue-armory/

Les Enluminures vice president Keegan Goepfert stands next to a Thirteenth Century illustrated scroll summarizing biblical history from Adam to Christ. The last known example in private hands, it is 3 meters long when unfurled.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to discover new material,” said James Roy, representing rare cartography and book dealer Martayan Lan, New York City. Roy said he has been with the firm for 19 years and has done this fair for 16 years. Although its specialty is maps ranging from the Fifteenth to the Twentieth Century, the firm also carries Americana, architecture and early printed books on medicine, science and travel.

Sandy Smith devoted a page up front in this year’s dealer directory to remember Bill Reese, founder of the William Reese Company of New Haven, Conn. Bill passed away in June 2018, but the company, now under the direction of Bill’s wife, Dorothy Hurt, continues its 40-year legacy as an important source of Americana and American art. Representing the company at the fair this year was Nick Aretakis, who said he rejoined the firm, coming back across the country from California to manage its Americana department. A Mexican incunable from 1554 with a six-figure price was one of the highlights on offer.

Les Enluminures, New York City, is known for all kinds of bibles, bindings and illuminated manuscripts.

Featured at the show were examples from its inventory of Books of Hours, illuminated manuscripts, text manuscripts and miniatures; among the highlights, the Bybbesworth Hours, copies of Juvenal and Sallust, a Processional from Nonnberg Abbey (Maria’s convent in the Sound of Music) and a Thirteenth Century illustrated scroll summarizing biblical history from Adam to Christ. The last known example in private hands, it measures 3 meters long when unfurled. In Latin, the illuminated scroll on parchment was created circa 123050. Unlike scrolls of the ancient world that were designed to be read horizontally (such as the Jewish Torah), here the history since Creation tumbles down vertically. It was previously exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was priced at $450,000.

That’s a lot of Barnes & Noble book credits. But the real buzz at the fair this year was over a French attic find being shown by Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps, Inc, La Jolla, Calif. Stickered at $1.5 million was a trove of 22 original blueprint drawings for the famed Statue of Liberty, an archive of drawings and blueprints from Établissements Eiffel, 1880-83. “They were folded up at the bottom of a trunk and quite fragile,” said Alex Clausen, the firm’s director, who made the discovery within the past year. “We sent them to a paper conservator where they were carefully unfolded.” https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage-at-park-avenue-armory/

Over in the booth of University Archives, Westport, Conn., dealer John Reznikoff had his own related highlight, an autograph letter signed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, French sculptor and designer of the statue.

In a two-page bi-fold letter inscribed in French, Bartholdi pens from Paris on February 2, 1882, news of the statue’s work in progress to his friend and fellow Franco-American Union member Georges Glaenzer. Another rare find on offer here were two letters that had been penned by two brothers, Clarence and John Anglin, who were prisoners at Alcatraz in the 1950s, poignantly detailing prison life and inquiring about friends and family on the outside.

It just may be the most beautiful printed book in the English language.

That was the unqualified opinion of Martin Weinkle, owner of Buddenbrooks, Newburyport and Boston, Mass. The volume he is holding is the 1896 Kelmscott Chaucer, created by William Morris and featuring the designs of Sir Edward Burne Jones. The cherry on top was its provenance, having been owned by George Abrams, the “Master of Typefaces.”

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage-at-park-avenue-armory/

Just before preview opened, Arrosic, Maine, dealer James Arsenault was examining an early find he had made at the show. In the early Nineteenth Century, a Troy, N.Y., entrepreneur by the name of George Ketcham created advertising books featuring hotels, inns and other tourist establishments, utilizing original photos, postcards and even original hand illustration, ostensibly to be placed in the highly trafficked areas of such resorts. Arsenault obtained the unique and unrecorded book and was going to do some more research on Collectors could find an abundance of rare and unusual autograph and manuscript treasures at Lion Heart Autographs, New York City. Among the highlights here were scientific letters, including one by US astronaut Neil Armstrong referring to his moon flight just months after the Apollo XI crew returned to earth, plus a signed copy of his high school yearbook. There were also historical items, such as a marriage contract signed

by Napoleon and Josephine and a rare handwritten letter by 15-year-old Catherine the Great; many musical autographs, including a signed photograph of George Gershwin. And one political item that surely generated gossip in its day. It was a presentation photograph, which, according to the firm’s David Lowenherz, had been given to Marguerite “Missy” LeHand (1898-1944), Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s private secretary, companion and possible mistress. The black and white photograph of the then governor and Mrs Roosevelt and 32 Democratic Party workers showed Eleanor off to the side and LeHand seated at FDR’s feet. The pewter frame was inscribed “M.A.L. From F.D.R., Feb. 5th, 1932.”

Martin Weinkle, owner of Buddenbrooks, Newburyport and Boston, Mass., had what he considered to be “the most beautiful printed book in the English language” – the 1896 Kelmscott Chaucer, created by William Morris and featuring the designs of Sir Edward Burne Jones. Mimicking the richness of Renaissance fonts and typographical design, the volume also had impeccable provenance, having been formerly owned by George Abrams, the “Master of Typefaces.”

Not everything is gold leaf, buttery binding and vellum at this show, as evidenced by a handful of plain typewritten manuscript raised aloft by Richard Meli, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., dealer who specializes in modern fiction, mystery, science fiction and illustration art. Here was a typed manuscript by Conan creator Robert Ervin Howard (1906-1936), a friend of Robert Hayward Barlow (1918-1951), himself an American author, avant-garde poet, anthropologist and historian of early Mexico. Barlow, a closeted gay man, committed suicide in January 1951, fearing his homosexuality would be revealed by one of his students. This manuscript was inscribed “To R.H. Barlow with the best wishes of Robert E. Howard.”

Maritime history collectors, especially fans of American whaling lore, know to seek out Greg Gibson, proprietor of Ten Pound Island Book Co., Gloucester, Mass. Gibson was awash in nautical, naval, polar, Arctic, Antarctic and travel material, but one of the highlights was a whaling log that he described as a “greatest hits” diary of a whaleman. The author had illustrated only the most important encounters of an 1845-49 whaling expedition.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage-at-park-avenue-armory/

Created in the late 1940s, this set of bowling pins featuring the likenesses of Axis dictators Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito was on offer by Battledore, Ltd/Justin Schiller, Kingston, N.Y.

Voyages also figure into a rare book being shown by Hordern House, Sydney, Australia. Spotlighting Sydney Parkinson’s book on Cook’s first voyage, with the double set of plates, black and white and color, the dealer’s director Derek McDonnell said the book, published in 1784, is “famous for its wonderful illustrations that include a series of portraits of Maori New Zealanders, which are especially striking,” McDonnell said he had a busy fair and was impressed by the level of interest in the material, much of which had to do with voyages discovery and exploration. “We are particularly specialized in the history of discovery in the ‘other’ ocean, the Pacific – which is one reason why we have usually done the California book fairs, for 30 years now,” he continued. “But the level of interest in New York means that we will hope to be back in future years. The armory is a wonderful venue.”

“There’s no serendipity on the internet,” explained the show’s chairman Donald Head, himself a 47-year veteran of the trade, when asked about the importance of such a gathering. And it’s true. How many times have you wandered through a public library, perhaps intent on finding something in particular but diverted by something compelling and new that catches your eye. Heald’s own booth was filled with a multitude of eyecatching material, ranging from a rare American work on dogs, with chromolithographed images after Alexander Pope Jr (1849-1924), to a copy of the deluxe hand colored edition of David Roberts’ monumental work on the Middle East to the second edition of the “most famous colorplate book of American plant and animal life, Mark Catesby’s (1683-1749) The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, a beautiful work by the founder of American ornithology.

Then there was what looked to be an inauspicious pile of buff-colored paper cutouts on a showcase shelf at Ursus Rare Books Ltd, New York City. What was it? We asked. Adam Gorfin, the firm’s owner, patiently explained that it was a Japanese architect’s unassembled model of a tea house, printed in the 1930s. It was a Zen kind of thing. “The show was okay for us sales-wise; however, as always, we bought quite well and saw a lot of good books on the floor,” he said. “It remains the best antiquarian book fair in the world.”

For information, 212-777-5218 or www.nybookfair.com.

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