2022 ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Press Coverage

2022 PRESS

THE NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR 2022 PULL QUOTES

“Bibliophiles, rejoice!” – Mel Studach, AD Pro, February 9, 2022 “Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant.” – Staff Writer, Antiques and the Arts Weekly, February 18, 2022 “Found tucked in an envelope in a private collection, A Book of Ryhmes—a long-lost mini manuscript written by Charlotte Brontë at age 13—will go on sale for $1.25million at a New York Citybook fair.”

– Staff Writer, People Magazine, April 18, 2022 “Universally referred to as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF is thrilled to showcase nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair.” – Jose Villareal, Art Daily, February 28, 2022 “Old book lovers, get excited.” -Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, March 30, 2022 “From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual—to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics—the fair boasts offerings in every genre and subject.” – Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, March 30, 2022 “The Massachusetts-based Schubertiade, a gallery of rare offerings for collectors, scholars, music lovers, gift givers, museums, and libraries, will bring a treasure trove of Broadway and performing arts-related ephemera.” – Andrew Gans, PLAYBILL, March 30, 2022 “One of the world’s leading gatherings of the rare book tribe.” – Jennifer Schuessler, The New York Times, April 20, 2022 “An experience of dizzying information overload.” – Jennifer Schuessler, The New York Times, April 20, 2022 “A trove of treasures from almost 200 exhibitors.” – Dusica Sue Malevic, New York Post, April 21, 2022

“A book lover’s paradise.” – Alyssa Ammirati, Silive, April 22, 2022 “The fair’s social scene, particularly its vernissage, is as pleasing as the displays of rare printed media.” – Osman Can Yerebakan, Galerie, April 22, 2022 “A kind of Glastonbury for bibliophiles, with all the hedonism yet none of the regrets.” – Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian, April 23, 2022 "A must-visit occurrence for book and print collectors.” – Osman Can Yerebakan, Galerie, April 22, 2022 “’A Book of Rhymes,’ which contains 10 previously unpublished poems by the 13-year-old Brontë, was a star attraction over the weekend at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair” – Jennifer Schuessler, The New York Times, April 25, 2022 “The fair, with almost 200 exhibitors from around the world, offers treasures approaching the lost library of Alexandria–and with prices fit for an Egyptian pharaoh.” – Ron Charles, The Washington Post, May 2, 2022 “Unmatched offerings from nearly 200 exhibitors from around the world.” – Staff Writer, Fine Books & Collections, May 4, 2022 “Continuing to live up to its reputation as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair.” – Staff Writer, Fine Books & Collections, May 4, 2022

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Published by The Bee Publishing Company, Newtown, Connecticut

February 18, 2022

INDEXES ON PAGES 36 & 37

TRAITOR, SURVIVOR, ICON: THE LEGACY OF

La Malinche

Q&A Carl Lounsbury Bottles Up! Glass Works Sale Gathers In A Lustrous Lineup Near & Far East Dominate At Andrew Jones Fine Art Is Fine For Eldred’s York Antiques Show, Back After Two-Year Hiatus, Draws Enthusiastic Crowd European Artists Succeed At Quinn’s Auction Galleries

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Newsstand Rate $2.00

Wooten & Wooten’s Winter Sale Is Horse Powered

Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls Sneakers Sell For $422,000 New York Antiques Online Show Draws Over 8,000 Attendees, Sales Total Over $200,000 Marx Prototypes Earn High Marks For Milestone Devin Moisan’s Sale: Good Merchandise Generates $730,000 Josef E. ‘Pepi’ Jelinek, MD, 93, An Avid Folk Art Collector Florence Griswold Museum Gets Cozy With New London Quilts & Bed Covers

36 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — February 18, 2022

To The Editor: Specializing in early brass and Delft, Mark was an everpresent figure at scores of antiques shows over his 50-plus years in business. For some, this industry is a part-time pastime; for others, a full time endeavor requiring countless days and nights on the road, many hours of researching on an almost daily basis, and unfortunately too much time away from family. While still a student working on his PhD at Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, his interest in material culture and its rewards took root, hijacking a promising career in academia.

Remembering Mark Allen, Antiques Dealer

However, what academia lost the antiques world gained. Countless museums, collectors and friends were the beneficiaries of his knowledge, hard work and determination.

Although the business demanded much of his attention, it was by no means his sole focus. He was a larger-than-life figure who delighted in a great meal whether at famous restaurants or humble ones he had stumbled upon. He took even greater delight in preparing a meal himself for friends and family in his very own gourmet kitchen. He enjoyed tennis, travel and his garden, a frequent source for the wonderful

enthusiastically told Grace not only about the magnificent medieval sites, villages and gardens we had seen, but also about the dealers we had visited and bought from. Soon thereafter, Grace and I planned a spring trip that Mark was unable to make. His response was both immediate and in character — “Grace will love it.”

Not only was Mark not the least bit reticent to introduce me to dealers/sources he had long cultivated, he took one further step. Just a few weeks before Grace and I left for our trip abroad, he volunteered his Rolodex of dealers I had not yet visited. He did so with “Have a

flower arrangements Marj created for their many show booths. Most of all, he enjoyed spending his down time with his daughters Stephanie and Samantha, his beloved wife Marj, and his many friends.

On a personal note, I must say that I was the beneficiary of one of Mark’s most extraordinary gifts — one not easily found in the antiques trade — his boundless generosity. In the late 1970s or early 1980s Mark invited me to accompany him on one of his regular buying trips to England and Holland.

Needless to say, I learned a great deal as he showed me the ropes. Upon returning home, I

Auction Previews

20, Feb ............... cordierauction.com ................. Cordier Auction ......... 66 20, Feb ................... New York City..........................Showplace ............. 3C 20, Feb ......... treasureseekerauction.com ..... Treasureseeker Auction ... 56 21, Feb ..........bidlive.bruneauandco.com ............. Bruneau & Co ........... 5C 22-23, Feb...litchfieldcountyauctions.com ..Litchfield County Auctions ... 2 22-23, Feb...litchfieldcountyauctions.com ..Litchfield County Auctions . 57 23, Feb ..................... kodner.com ..............................Kodner ................ 62 23, Feb ................. Mount Kisco, NY ..................... Benefit Shop............ 58 23, Feb ..................Philadelphia, PA ....................Material Culture ......... 7C 24, Feb ..............capsuleauctions.com ...............Capsule Auctions .......... 2 24, Feb ..............capsuleauctions.com ...............Capsule Auctions ........ 57 25, Feb ...................Jewett City, CT .....................Leone’s Auction ........... 2 25-27, Feb....... thomastonauction.com .............Thomaston Place ... 52-53 26, Feb ...................auctionzip.com...................... Keene Auction .......... 62 26, Feb ............... cordierauction.com ................ Cordier Auctions......... 59 26, Feb ................... Glen Cove, NY .................... Roland Auctions ........... 2 26, Feb ................... Glen Cove, NY .................... Roland Auctions ......... 41 26, Feb ................... Glen Cove, NY .................... Roland Auctions ......... 51 26-27, Feb.......... aandoauctions.com ................Ahlers & Ogletree ........ 8C 26-27, Feb................Sarasota, FL .................Sarasota Estate Auction ... 4C 27, Feb .............woodburyauction.com ..........Schwenke Auctioneers ...... 2 3-5, Mar .................. Clarence, NY ...................Schultz Auctioneers ...... 63 6, Mar ........................abell.com ................................. Abell .................. 58 6, Mar ............ thoscornellauctions.com ........ Thos Cornell Galleries ...... 2 19, Mar ............. cottoneauctions.com ...................... Cottone................ 54 20, Mar ..........butterscotchauction.com ............... Butterscotch .............. 2 4-5, Mar ................. copleyart.com ..................... Copley Fine Art .......... 2C 24, Apr ..............tremontauctions.com .............. Tremont Auctions ........ 62 7, May ..........rockportartassn.org/auction....Rockport Art Association .. 62 Feb-March ..........americanbottle.com .......... American Bottle Auction ... 60

Auctions At Showplace Fine Art, Jewelry & Silver................................ 42 Bruneau & Co Estate Fine Art & Antiques Online ................ 50 Clars Fine Art .............................. 5 David Killen Gallery Fine Art, Antiquities & Furniture .......................... 12 Eldred’s Sailor’s Trove At Marine Sale .................................... 4 Everard Auctions Boutique Auction Of Fashion & Accessories ..... 11 Freeman’s Biddle Family Tankard ........ 7 Hudson Valley Auctioneers Antiques & Estate Auction............................. 13 Swann Galleries Books & Autographs .......... 3

Show Previews

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Every Tues............... Coventry, CT............................ Weston’s............... 62 Every Thurs .......... goldengavel.com ..................... Golden Gavel ........... 62 7-17, Feb.............. auctionninja.com ....................Edward Beattie .......... 66 11, Feb ...................Jewett City, CT .....................Leone’s Auction ........... 2 11-27, Feb.........tremontauctions.com .............. Tremont Auctions ........ 60 11-27, Feb.........tremontauctions.com .............. Tremont Auctions ........ 62 12, Feb ................... Red Hook, NY.........................George Cole ............ 66 13, Feb .................... Coventry, CT....................... Ingraham & Co .......... 54 13, Feb ................... New York City................... David Killen Gallery ...... 64 14-15, Feb.... donnymaloneauctions.com ............ Donny Malone .......... 60 14-24, Feb............. skinnerinc.com........................ Skinner Inc ............. 67 15, Feb ..................New Milford, CT ...................... Auction Barn............ 67 15, Feb ............ newhavenauctions.com .......... New Haven Auctions ..... 6C 17, Feb ................... New York City................... David Killen Gallery ...... 64 17-20, Feb..................clars.com ................................. Clars .................. 55 18-19, Feb............... Alameda, CA........................... Michaan’s .............. 56 19, Feb ..............associatedestate.com...............Associated Estate ........ 61 19, Feb ...................... Bristol, CT ..........................Tim’s Auction ........... 65

VISIT US ON THE WEB AT

AntiquesandTheArts.com

DATE

International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns ...........45 The Winter Show Announces Dates ............33

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13, Feb ................ Portland, ME .....................42 20, Feb ................ Hampton, NH .....................33 26-27, Feb.......... Columbus, OH ......................7 26-27, Feb.......... Columbus, OH ....................13 10-13, Mar ............Atlanta, GA.........................7 10-13, Mar ............Atlanta, GA.......................13 23-24, April ........ Stormville, NY ......................2 21, May .............. Westbrook, CT ....................45

EVENT

ball” and indeed we did.

In fact, such was Mark’s boundless enthusiasm for the antiques business, and for the many friends he made over the years that, knowing he had only days to live, he chose to spend some of his last hours following online the auction of his longtime client and friend, Bill Du Pont. In his final hours, he was happy that Bill’s sale did so well and that many of the objects there bore his provenance. A fitting end to a life well lived.

—Elliott Snyder Editor’s Note: An obituary to Mark Allen will appear in a future issue.

28-29, May......... Stormville, NY ......................2 Weekly Events Sun .................... Jewett City, CT ......................2 Sun .......................Milford, NH ......................12 The Following Ads May Be Found In Last Week’s (2/11) Issue 10-13, Feb............... Atlanta, GA .................17 16-19, Feb..............Nashville, TN..................5 17-19, Feb..............Nashville, TN..................7

ANTIQUES AND THE ARTS WEEKLY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS This is a free listing and therefore no credit will be given for any errors

TO PLACE AN AD CALL 203-426-8036

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February 18, 2022 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 45

International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns To New York, April 21-24

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory.

NEW YORK CITY — The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) — officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates — is making its much-anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24 for its 62nd edition.

Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant.

NYIABF will showcase nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair. This year, as world travel

restrictions are lifted, the fair organizers are working closely with their international dealers to ensure a seamless return to the United States and will welcome exhibitors from 14 different countries. A number of US exhibitors also highlight the wealth of material available stateside. Exhibitors will present rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera.

Several of the 2022 exhibitors have participated in the NYIABF since its inception, attesting to the fair’s longevity and relevance to its dealers and audiences. However, the fair continues to attract new antiquarian booksellers and attendees as it evolves, welcoming 19 new exhibitors this year, including Auger Down Books, Autographes des Siècles, Brenner’s Books – Rare &

Raptis Rare Books, the Manney copy of the first edition in English of Dumas’ The Count of Monte-Cristo in the rare original cloth.

Collectable, Bull’s Head Rare Books, Cleveland Book Company, Daniel / Oliver Gallery, Evening Star Books, First Edition Rare Books, Johnson Rare Books, Le Bookiniste, Le Zograscope, Liberty Book Store, lizzyoung bookseller, Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books Ltd, studio montespecchio di jan van der donk, Temple Rare Books, Voewood Rare Books and William Chrisant & Sons.

The fair’s specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual — to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics — the fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.

In recent years, NYIABF has

Cochiti Storage Jar Leads Santa Fe Art Auction

anbookfair.com/dealers.

Preview: $60 (includes one daily readmission); daily admission: $30; students: $10 (with valid ID – at the door only); run of show: $45 (at door only); special event — Discovery Day — Sunday, April 24 1 to 3 pm. A NYIABF tradition, Discovery Day offers ticketed visitors the opportunity to bring their own rare books, manuscripts, maps, etc. (up to five items) Exhibitors will be on hand to offer expert advice and free appraisals.

The Park Avenue Armory is at 643 Park Avenue. For information, www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com or 212-777-5218.

CASH PAID FOR ANTIQUE HAND TOOLS WOODSHOP TOOLS

Planes, Chisels, Saws, Anvils, Etc. Call Us Before You Sell At Auction One Piece Or Entire Collection

Call 860-377-6258 Michael Rouillard

WESTBROOK, CT ANTIQUE & OUTDOOR SPORTING COLLECTIBLES SHOW

Strange Times: Photos Capture Covid-Era New Haven with an art degree from Skidmore College. Notably, after 30 years of photography, the moments he captured in the last 18 months reflect a relatable shift in the history of the Elm City. Living most of his adult life downtown, he had always known the area as a bustling hub of students, workers, academics, businesspeople, tourists and transients, hosting homeless and well-heeled alike. Exciting, and sometimes troubled, New Haven was rarely quiet. “The Covid era changed all that,” Topping says.

“For the first time in my memory

increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking one-of-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Prices range from $50$1 million.

In its 62nd Edition, in addition to 99 US booksellers, NYIABF enjoys strong international participation with booksellers hailing from the United Kingdom (32), France (19), Italy (8), Germany (5), The Netherlands (4), Austria (3), Denmark (2), Spain (1), Argentina (1), Canada (1), Czech Republic (1), Georgia (1), Hungary (1) and Japan (1) A full list of exhibitors may be found at www.nyantiquari-

HIGHEST PRICE PAID

SANTA FE, N.M. — Santa Fe Art Auction’s February 5 sale offered a diverse selection of historic to contemporary Native American arts, including jewelry, textiles, pottery and paintings. Highlights ranged from monumental ancestral Pueblo pots to jewelry, concha belts, Nineteenth Century textiles and more. Leading the action was a Cochiti large storage jar, circa 1820, that sold for $49,200. The fired clay vessel with pigment stood 17-1/8 inches high and had a diameter of 19 inches. It came from the collection of Philadelphian Henry Block, having descended in the family and was the catalog cover photo of a Bonhams 2005 Native American, Pre-Columbian and tribal art sale. A further review of this sale will follow.

NEW HAVEN, CONN. — By most accounts, by the spring of 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic was unraveling our collective sense of political, social and economic “normality.” In March 2020, New Haven resident Roderick Topping began to casually document that new reality. His images are on view in a new exhibit, “Strange Times: Downtown New Haven in the Covid Era,” at the New Haven Museum (NHM) through March 25.

Topping emigrated from Scotland as a child and moved to New Haven in the late 1980s

Raptis Rare Books, first edition of Ian Fleming’s first book Casino Royale, signed by him.

the city was silent.”

For Topping, the backdrops of everyday life in New Haven — buildings and alleyways, sidewalks and sewer grates —gained new prominence as the populace deserted the streets and revealed the skeleton of the city. Many of his photos are black and white, some with an ethereal, cinematic feel evoking the mood at the height of the pandemic: bleak, lonely and surreal.

The New Haven Museum is at 114 Whitney Avenue. For more information, 203-562-4183 or www.newhavenmuseum.org.

Sponsored by the Decoy Boys Network

$5 AD M I S S I O N FREE APPRAISALS

Saturday, May 21 10am to 3pm Elks Club, 142 Seaside Ave., Westbrook, CT Decoys | Hunting | Fishing | Advertising Paintings | Shotgun Shell Boxes | Etc. Contact Tom Reiley 860-324-4001 email: thomas.reiley@gmail.com

APRIL 4, 2022

ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is on for April 21 - 24, 2022 and the over 180 exhibitors will bring a vast selection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera to the historic Park Avenue Armory in New York City. The diversity of specialties includes art, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana, and much more. 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 authenticity of the items available for purchase.

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

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Events Calendar

By Mel Studach

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair April 21-April 24, 2022 Park Avenue Armory New York, NY, USA Bibliophiles, rejoice! The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, with its 200-plus exhibitors of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illustrations, and more, returns to the Park Avenue Armory this April for its 62nd edition.

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

APRIL 20, 2022

NYC International Antiquarian Book Fair to Showcase LGBTQ+ History The fair will feature over 200 exhibitors from 14 different countries.

By Alex Cooper

Via Shutterstock

A collection of historic images of LGBTQ+ life will be on display at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair taking place April 21 to 24 at the Park Avenue Armory. More than 200 exhibitors from around the world will have their books and items on show for the international event. Exhibitors from more than 14 countries will be at the fair. Treasures to showcase and purchase will include rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints, and print ephemera, according to a release.

Also featured will be a collection of images from Walter Reuben Inc. While the company specializes in movie star photos, movie scripts, rare books, lobby cards, vintage movie posters, and Hollywood movie memorabilia that focus on the history of the European and Hollywood Motion Picture Business, they also work with materials related to Black cultural history, theater and stage, and LGBTQ+ film. https://www.advocate.com/books/2022/4/20/nyc-international-antiquarian-book-fairshowcase-lgbtq-history

“On display in their booth at the NYIABF will be a curated collection of photos of same-sex couples and groups showing deep affection, friendship, and forms of intimacy which fall under the umbrella of LGBTQ study. Many are from the earliest days of photography and the bulk of the collection consists of images from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries,” a spokesperson for the company said.

The images at the fair will show the intimacy between the subjects through their body language, dress, and positionings. Some of the postcards were even directed to family members, who seem to have been aware of these relationships. “As many are from a period in which photography was not common, that these people choose to be photographed together for formal photos and for reallife postcards indicates that they are couples wishing to celebrate their union,” a description of the collection states.

https://www.advocate.com/books/2022/4/20/nyc-international-antiquarian-book-fairshowcase-lgbtq-history

APRIL 4, 2022

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair APRIL 21–24, 2022 PARK AVENUE ARMORY / NEW YORK

Photo courtesy of Raptis Rare Books

https://airmail.news/arts-intel/events/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-5930

After a coronavirus-forced hiatus, the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is back at the Park Avenue Armory. Hosted by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, the 62nd fair will include more than 200 booksellers. The range of titles is wide, from rare Chinese art books to illuminated manuscripts to spiritual guides. For just four days, vendors from around the world—France’s Knuf Rare Books, for instance, Germany’s Rotes Antiquariat, and the Czech Republic’s Steermans—will convene in Manhattan. The range in prices matches the range in books: from $50 up to $1 million. —J.D.

https://airmail.news/arts-intel/events/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-5930

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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS R T S & E N T E R T A

April 21, 2022 - April 27, 2022 • 19 I

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Antiquarian Book Fair returns to NY April 21-24 The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) makes its much anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24, 2022, for its 62nd edi-

tion. Widely considered the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, this year’s NYIABF is thrilled to showcase nearly 200 exhibitors from around the world, continuing

its legacy of being a highly international event. Exhibitors will present a vast treasure trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine

bindings, illustrations, historical documents, rare prints, print ephemera, and more. For more information and for tickets, visit www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com.

Ailey, Alvin. (1931–1989) & de Lavallade, Carmen. (b. 1931) [Rapport, Will]. Blues Suite - Signed Photograph. Original ca.

1960 Will Rapport photograph of the dancers in performance in “Blues Suite” (sometimes also titled “Roots of the Blues”) which launched the Ailey company in 1958 and is often documented as the choreographer’s first masterpiece.

Signed Swedish reissue of the jazz drummer’s 1960 album, “We Insist!” inscribed on the back “For Ken, Max 11/26/80” and also signed at a later date by singer Abbey Lincoln, whose signature is dated 1983. Jazz drummer Max Roach and singer Oscar Brown began work on the “Freedom Now Suite” in early 1960, intending to perform it in 1963 on the 50th anniversary of Emancipation. A recording was released in December of 1960 under the title “We Insist!” The work was consciously and explicitly political, with movements spanning slavery, emancipation, the Civil Rights Movement, and African independence movements. The photograph on the cover evokes the lunch counter sit-ins that were a regular feature of civil rights protests.

“Humanity” Cast-Iron Tobacco Box. An English tobacco box bearing the kneeling captive iconography of the abolitionist movement, dating to the mid-19th century.

Ira Aldridge. African tragedian. Member of the order of Art and Science conferred by his Majesty King William 4th of Prussia and holder of the medal of Leopold and the White Cross etc. A rare, inscribed portrait of the famous actor. Dated Berlin 1861, it is inscribed to “Madame Arline Bach with the best wishes of Ira Aldridge.” Born in New York City, Ira Aldridge (1807-1867) attended the African Free School and opted for a career on the stage rather than the clergy, as his father preferred. While he got his start in the Brown’s Theatre (known as the African Theatre), New York, his prospects were brighter in England and he emigrated in 1824.

Aldridge’s debut came the next year in a production of “The Revolt of Suriname” in which he played the enslaved prince Oroonoko.

Other roles followed quickly, such as “The Ethiopian,” “The Libertine Defeated,” and “The Negro’s Curse,” which was written for him. For the next seven years he performed under the stage name the “African Roscius.” Importantly, his first performance as Othello was in 1826, making him the first actor of African descent to perform the role.

APRIL 21, 2022

Antiquarian Book Fair returns to NY April 21-24

By AmNews Staff Reports

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) makes its much anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24, 2022, for its 62nd edition. Widely considered the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, this year’s NYIABF is thrilled to showcase nearly 200 exhibitors from around the world, continuing its legacy of being a highly international event.

Exhibitors will present a vast treasure trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, rare prints, print ephemera, and more. For more information and for tickets, visit www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com. https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2022/04/21/antiquarian-book-fair-returns-to-ny-april21-24/

Ailey, Alvin. (1931–1989) & de Lavallade, Carmen. (b. 1931) [Rapport, Will]. Blues Suite – Signed Photograph. Original ca. 1960 Will Rapport photograph of the dancers in performance in “Blues Suite” (sometimes also titled “Roots of the Blues”) which launched the Ailey company in 1958 and is often documented as the choreographer’s first masterpiece.

Roach, Max. (1924–2007) & Lincoln, Abbey. (1930–2010). “We Insist!” – Signed LP. Signed Swedish reissue of the jazz drummer’s 1960 album, “We Insist!” inscribed on the back “For Ken, Max 11/26/80” and also signed at a later date by singer Abbey Lincoln, whose signature is dated 1983. Jazz drummer Max Roach and singer Oscar Brown began work on the “Freedom Now Suite” in early 1960, intending to perform it in 1963 on the 50th anniversary of Emancipation.

A recording was released in December of 1960 under the title “We Insist!” The work was consciously and explicitly political, with movements spanning slavery, emancipation, the Civil Rights Movement, and African independence movements. The photograph on the cover evokes the lunch counter sit-ins that were a regular feature of civil rights protests.

The First Actor of African Descent to Play Othello: A Signed Copy [Aldridge (Ira).] Barabás (Miklós): Ira Aldridge. African tragedian. Member of the order of Art and Science conferred by his Majesty King William 4th of Prussia and holder of the medal of Leopold and the White Cross etc. A rare, inscribed portrait of the famous actor. Dated Berlin 1861, it is inscribed to “Madame Arline Bach with the best wishes of Ira Aldridge.” Born in New York City, Ira Aldridge (1807-1867) attended the African Free School and opted for a career on the stage rather than the clergy, as his father preferred. While he got his start in the Brown’s Theatre (known as the African Theatre), New York, his prospects were brighter in England and he emigrated in 1824. Aldridge’s debut came the next year in a production of “The Revolt of Suriname” in which he played the enslaved prince Oroonoko. Other roles followed quickly, such as “The Ethiopian,” “The Libertine Defeated,” and “The Negro’s Curse,” which was written for him. For the next seven years he performed under the stage name the “African Roscius.”

Importantly, his first performance as Othello was in 1826, making him the first actor of African descent to perform the role.

“Humanity” Cast-Iron Tobacco Box. An English tobacco box bearing the kneeling captive iconography of the abolitionist movement, dating to the mid-19th century.

https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2022/04/21/antiquarian-book-fair-returns-to-ny-april21-24/

APRIL 4, 2022

NEW YORK ABAA INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR

Thursday, Apr 21, 2022 - Sunday, Apr 24, 2022 Location: Park Avenue 643 Park Avenue, New York City Website

67th

and

Armory Park

https://www.antipodean.com/pages/events/13/new-york-abaa-international-book-fair

62nd Annual Antiquarian Booksellers' New York International Antiquarian Book Fair APRIL 21 - 24, 2022 Preview: Thurs., April 21, 5-9pm Fri, April 22, noon-8pm Sat, April 23, noon-7pm Sun, April 24, noon-5pm Park Avenue Armory

Association

of

America

https://www.antipodean.com/pages/events/13/new-york-abaa-international-book-fair

APRIL 13, 2022

Tiny Charlotte Brontë Book Could Fetch Hefty $1.25 Million The miniature book made when the author was a teen, and contains what may be her last unknown poems, goes on sale this month at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair.

By ANTIQUE TRADER STAFF

Brontë's tiny book was "sold by nobody and printed by herself." - Courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller

Before British novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë wrote her most famous work, Jane Eyre, she self-published numerous miniature books as a teenager to entertain the toy soldiers she and her siblings played with. Fans and collectors have long desired these miniature books. The last one of more than two dozen written that have remained in private collections and had been thought lost will be revealed on April 21, the opening night of the 62nd annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, also the day of Brontë’s birthday. The asking price is $1.25 million. https://www.antiquetrader.com/antiques-news/tiny-charlotte-bront%C3%AB-book-couldfetch-over-1-million

Novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë. Courtesy of the Morgan Library & Museum

The volume was last seen at auction in 1916 in New York, where it sold for $520 before disappearing, its whereabouts unknown. It will be on view for the first time in more than a century at the booth of New York book dealer James Cummins Bookseller at the book fair. Cummins is selling the book with Maggs Bros. of London, one of the longest-established antiquarian booksellers in the world. According to a release by James Cummings Bookseller, the miniature book, A Book of Ryhmes [sic], by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself, is a collection of ten poems written when Brontë (1816-1855) was 13. The fifteen-page manuscript, smaller than a playing card, is dated December 1829.

Stitched together in its original brown paper covers, the book tells tales involving the "sophisticated imaginary world" of Brontë and her siblings. She and her sisters, Emily and Anne, wrote some of the best-loved novels besides Jane Eyre, including Wuthering Heights (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1948). "They wrote adventure stories, dramas, and verse in handmade manuscript books filled with tiny handwriting intended to resemble print," the release says.

"The manuscript was last in the public eye in 1916, and we all love the story of an unexpected survival," Henry Wessells, an associate at James Cummins Bookseller, told CNN. "Now the owner wishes to ensure that it is preserved for future generations, and, ultimately, made available to scholarship."

https://www.antiquetrader.com/antiques-news/tiny-charlotte-bront%C3%AB-book-couldfetch-over-1-million

The table of contents. Courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller

"The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best," Brontë writes on the manuscript's title page. And at the end of the book, she asserts creative control over the imaginary world created by herself and siblings.

It’s that whomever takes possession of the book will permit its contents to be recorded for posterity. Previous “tiny books” have wound up in the possession of institutions like the Brontë Parsonage Museum, which purchased one designed to look like a literary magazine for more than $860,000 in 2019.

https://www.antiquetrader.com/antiques-news/tiny-charlotte-bront%C3%AB-book-couldfetch-over-1-million

FEBRUARY 15, 2022

International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns To New York, April 21-24

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory.

NEW YORK CITY – The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) – officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates – is making its much-anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24 for its 62nd edition.

Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant. https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/international-antiquarian-book-fair-returns-to-new-york-april-21-24/

NYIABF will showcase nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair. This year, as world travel restrictions are lifted, the fair organizers are working closely with their international dealers to ensure a seamless return to the United States and will welcome exhibitors from 14 different countries. A number of US exhibitors also highlight the wealth of material available stateside. Exhibitors will present rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera.

Several of the 2022 exhibitors have participated in the NYIABF since its inception, attesting to the fair’s longevity and relevance to its dealers and audiences. However, the fair continues to attract new antiquarian booksellers and attendees as it evolves, welcoming 19 new exhibitors this year, including Auger Down Books, Autographes des Siècles, Brenner’s Books – Rare & Collectable, Bull’s Head Rare Books, Cleveland Book Company, Daniel / Oliver Gallery, Evening Star Books, First Edition Rare Books, Johnson Rare Books, Le Bookiniste, Le Zograscope, Liberty Book Store, lizzyoung bookseller, Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books Ltd, studio montespecchio di jan van der donk, Temple Rare Books, Voewood Rare Books and William Chrisant & Sons.

Raptis Rare Books, the Manney copy of the first edition in English of Dumas’ The Count of Monte-Cristo in the rare original cloth. https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/international-antiquarian-book-fair-returns-to-new-york-april-21-24/

The fair’s specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual – to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics – the fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.

In recent years, NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking one-of-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Prices range from $50 and goes up to the millions.

In its 62nd Edition, in addition to 99 US booksellers, NYIABF enjoys strong international participation with booksellers hailing from the United Kingdom (32), France (19), Italy (8), Germany (5), The Netherlands (4), Austria (3), Denmark (2), Spain (1), Argentina (1), Canada (1), Czech Republic (1), Georgia (1), Hungary (1) and Japan (1) A full list of exhibitors may be found at www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com/dealers.

Preview: $60 (includes one daily readmission); daily admission: $30; students: $10 (with valid ID – at the door only); run of show: $45 (at door only); special event – Discovery Day – Sunday, April 24 1 to 3 pm. A NYIABF tradition, Discovery Day offers ticketed visitors the opportunity to bring their own rare books, manuscripts, maps, etc. (up to five items) Exhibitors will be on hand to offer expert advice and free appraisals.

The Park Avenue Armory is at 643 Park Avenue. For information, www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com or 212-777-5218.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/international-antiquarian-book-fair-returns-to-new-york-april-21-24/

MAY 3, 2022

‘Baby Bronte,’ Wine Book Collection Headline NY Antiquarian Book Fair NEW YORK CITY – From April 21-24, 182 exhibitors from four continents, specializing in every genre and vintage of books, manuscripts, maps, documents, ephemera and anything that could be considered even remotely related returned to the Park Avenue Armory for the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF). Skipping just one year – 2021 – because of the pandemic, vendors were nonetheless happy to return and many reported a brisk trade, with some rating this edition among the best in the show’s history.

Sanford Smith, the fair’s long-time manager, was pleased with how the show turned out.

“According to most dealers, it was the best book fair we’ve ever had. For a number of years, many have said it’s the best antiquarian book fair in the world and we had some unbelievable sales.”

Smith populates the drill floor of the armory with three different categories of dealers, from those who do it professionally, semiprofessionally, or those for whom it is a part-time endeavor. Visitors can expect to find a broad range of values, from $25 or $50 to seven figures, but because the fair is sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, visitors can buy with confidence knowing that any purchase, regardless of price point, has been guaranteed and presented in the most accurate manner possible.

A few changes distinguished this edition from previous ones. On a purely aesthetic note, Smith had increased the height of the side walls from three feet to eight feet tall, and had carpeting only on the booth interiors, leaving the aisles bare. There were a few new faces, but the field of vendors was notably smaller than previously, down from about 205 or 208. Smith attributed this to the several factors, including lingering concerns about Covid-19 among more senior exhibitors and the increased expense and freight time for international vendors.

If the floor saw fewer dealers, the gate was higher than it has been, a good 50 percent higher than it had been in 2020, Smith reported. Doubtless some of the enthusiasm could be chalked up to the excitement of returning to a live event after a long winter and even longer pandemic closeting but also in part, Smith thought, to how much people love the show.

“They can stay all day and browse. There is the congeniality of talking with exhibitors, all of whom are experts and collectors want to talk to people who know what they are doing.” https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

One of the most talked about works at the fair was Charlotte Brontë’s A Book of Rhymes, referred to as the “Baby Brontë” because it fits easily in the palm of a small hand and was written in October 1829, when Brontë was 13 years old during her childhood at Haworth Parsonage. The manuscript was last seen in public in 1916 when Walpole Galleries, New York City, auctioned it.

The tiny 15-page manuscript was signed by Brontë no less than 12 times and was the last of two dozen miniature books made by the young Brontë in private hands. Smaller than a playing card, the volume contains ten previously unpublished poems.

Carefully ensconced in a glass case in the booth of New York City bookseller James Cummins, the volume had been priced at $1.25 million. After the show, it was revealed that the book sold to the Friends of the National Libraries, a British charity, which is donating the book to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire. A press release issued by the museum quoted chief curator, Ann Dinsdale, as saying, “It is always emotional when an item belonging to the Brontë family is returned home, and this final little book coming back to the place where it was written after being thought lost is very special for us.”

Another work that attracted considerable media attention before the show, and sold for $2 million, was an archive of more than 700 historic wine reference books and manuscripts that dated back to the Sixth Century. Belonging to California winemaker Sean Thackrey and assembled over decades, the Thackrey Library is one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of wine texts; it includes a Sixth Century papyrus leaf from Egypt that records the sale of grapevines from a monastery to an Egyptian farmer, a Fifteenth Century edition of De Vinis by Arnaldus de Villanova, as well as several Sixteenth Century manuscripts previously owned by the writer and wine merchant, André Simon. The buyer was not disclosed.

London dealer Peter Harrington reported three high-ticket sales, including a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which had been priced at $360,000. The 1925 volume, which was part of an original run of just 20,870 copies, was in original, untouched mint condition, a particular rarity given a past trend for restoring damaged editions. The volume was featured in an article written in advance of the fair that appeared in Bloomberg.

Harrington’s two other noteworthy sales were a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, from the Mannheim copy, which New York book dealer Gabriel Wells divided into single leaves or larger fragments and inserted into a Morocco leather portfolio by Stikeman and Company. Rounding out his top trades was a Kelmscott Press 1896 copy of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Works, one of 425 copies that was the result of a four-year collaboration between William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. The volume is considered one of the most important books published by Kelmscott Press.

Americana and historical manuscripts dealer Seth Kaller had several enticing pieces in his small booth, including a Suffrage satin tricolor parade sash with provenance to the Cornelia Rose estate, a broadside titled “Some Account of the Bloody Deeds of General Jackson,” a copy of Paul Revere’s “Boston Massacre,” and an advance text of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

Cincinnati, Ohio, dealer Ted Twyman of First Edition Rare Books was making his Antiquarian Book Fair debut and had an impressive White House Historical guide from 1962 that was signed

by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy. Barry Harlow’s 1970 White House photograph was signed by members of the White House staff, many of which were involved in Watergate, and he had a copy of Richard Nixon’s memoirs that was inscribed to John McCain’s father, John S. McCain Jr. Twyman said he had had a good show before it even opened, selling some Raymond Chandler books and presidential pieces during set up. https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

NYIABF encourages booksellers to stock a broad range of price points and you could find that without much difficulty. Brenner’s Books, Manasquan, N.J., fronted its booth with bookshelves prominently marked with books marked “$100 or less” to entice beginning collectors. Near the front, a framed circa 1942 Trader Vic’s menu from Oakland, Calif, was priced at $395.

David Lilburne, Antipodean Books, Maps and Prints of Garrison, N.Y., is president of the Ephemera Society of America and has been doing the NYIABF since 1985.

“The show was excellent,” David Lilburne said after the show. “It was both better than we expected and better than in previous years, by a long shot. Trade was aggressive and the show was busy throughout the weekend. Both Friday and Saturday were jammed and while Sunday was a little less crowded, it was still busy. We sold our last item at 5:05 pm on Sunday evening and first thing Monday morning, I got a call from someone saying, ‘I’ll take [a Toulouse Lautrec poster].'”

Lilburne had a book of Chinese pith pictures in an album with heavily carved boards that he sold to a gentleman who is not in the China market but loved the carved boards and the color of the pith pictures. The same collector also purchased a large, limited edition of Edward Boynton’s History of West Point, which he purchased as a gift for a friend who attended West Point.

Lilburne’s proximity to West Point has led to business and personal relationships with several of the military academy’s staff, including Colonel Dave Harper, who is a professor and head of the department of English and Philosophy. Harper brings the academy’s Rare Book Club to Lilburne’s shop where they can handle books or takes them to a local publisher to see how books are made.

One year, Harper asked Lilburne if he could bring his cadets to the armory show; Sanford Smith makes tickets possible so now, every year, about 15 cadets attend. This year, Lilburne said they came with two of the academy’s librarians.

“I’m so happy to be here,” said Princeton, Mass., bookseller James Gray, who noted he took advantage of the pandemic lockdown to research and blog about his inventory, which focuses on early printed books. Among the things in his booth that he proudly showed off was the adaption of QR codes that people could scan that would bring up information about each work he was selling.

“I get alerts from the platform that hosts my blog that tells me how many ‘readers’ I have; on a good day, I see between 40 and 50 readers. Before 9 am on Saturday, I had 146 readers.”

“It was a very good show. I wrote twice as many invoices at that show as I have at any show I’ve ever done; to new and old clients, as well as institutions. I had some substantial purchases, too.”

Gray said the level of attention was “much higher” than usual and he was pleased to see that younger people were also buying, with about half of his buyers being younger than him. He met people from all over, including a woman from Melbourne, Australia, who came to New York just to attend the fair. He made sales throughout the weekend, selling out of all his catalogs – a first for him – and in the last two hours of the show, he reported “nice sales to famous collectors, one from New York, the other from Washington.”

One of the sales Gray specified was A Sea Man’s Kalendar, which described navigational routes and would have been kept on board a ship for most of its life. Most were lost overboard or disintegrated from the elements, so it was a particularly rare survivor “It’s really cool because you can see cloth and tar, and lots of binding threads,” Gray point out. He sold it to a state university in the Midwest United States. https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

One of the younger dealers on the floor, Michael Jennings of Neatline Antique Maps, first did the NYIABF in 2020, before the pandemic so this was his second time exhibiting in New York, but he shows regularly in California and Europe. When asked why he started to focus on maps, he said he had trained as an archaeologist and had always loved them. Among the pieces he pointed out were a Belle Epoque travel poster for around the world travel. For earlier travel, he’d hung an entire wall with early maps.

After the fair, Jennings reported selling a 1535 map to a client who looked at it during the show and called him the following day to say he wanted it. He said he had at least one sale in the works.

“I think many people are very satisfied with how the fair has been managed. The set up was very well organized,” said Peter Blackman of White Fox Rare Books & Antiques. The New York City dealer characterized trade among dealers as “good.” After the fair closed, he said the energy was very much like previous New York book fairs and he thought that the expectation that visitors wear masks did not deter people from browsing. He saw strong institutional interest, though he thought attendance was down a bit because of Covid.

When we inquired as to what Blackman had that was very rare, he produced a “Gemalde auf Spinnengewebe” or painting on cobweb that was done by Franz Unterberger (Austria, 1838-1902) circa 1870s and depicted a young boy in Tyrolean garb, in a cardboard frame that measured about 5 by 4 inches. According to the dealer’s website, paintings on material woven from cobweb are quite scarce, with fewer than 100 paintings known to have been done. He had acquired it from a private collection.

One of Blackman’s sales was a set of four adorned engraved prints by Maerten de Vos (15321603), which featured Seventeenth Century prints with fabric woven into the paper in the Eighteenth Century. The prints were religious subjects and Blackman said they were scarce, with the Victoria & Albert Museum being one of the only other places to have them. The set sold to a university library in the United States.

Occupying a large booth in the center of the drill floor was Bauman Rare Books. Among the treasures on offer with the Madison Avenue booksellers and priced at $16,500 was a rare Elizabeth I royal wax seal that had been discovered in a collection of Elizabethan ephemera. The seal was affixed by a ribbon to a single page of vellum granting in a secretarial hand the office of sheriff of the County Palatine of Chester to Thomas Aston, Esq. Of later vintage but also with Bauman was a presentation copy of Albert Einstein’s Relativity, The Special and General Theory, published in 1931 in New York City. The octavo volume in giltstamped navy cloth was inscribed with a rare inscription in Einstein’s characteristic tiny handwriting “Für Herrn. J.M. Frankel, Albert Einstein, 1933.” Bauman was asking $35,000 for it.

An Ernest Hemingway family archive with Stuart Lutz received a lot of attention. The group, which he had priced at $200,000, included letters written to his favorite sister Ursula and more than two letters between Ernest and his wife, Mary, written at the time of his suicide. The archive was being sold on behalf of Ursula’s family and had never been offered for sale previously. Of the 51 pieces, which were written between 1908 and 1966, 32 were written by Ernest and topics range from his writing and books to travel, awards, life in Cuba and his family and that of Ursula.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

The 2020 NYIABF had been so outstanding for Lutz that this edition paled a little in comparison though he qualified it as “OK.” He appreciates the traffic it gets on Sundays and said he was in negotiations with an institution on the Hemingway archive that, if it goes through, would make the 2022 edition “wonderful.”

Triolet Rare Books specializes in modern literature and avant-garde movements with a focus on poetry, modernism, surrealism, fine printing and the lives of artists. Jesse Rossa had a drawing and two books by Leonora Carrington, as well as works by Leonor Fini, Max Ernst and James Joyce.

In the booth of Athena Rare Books, Fairfield, Conn., Lucy Rose DaSilva was briefly home before her final months as a senior at University of California Santa Cruz, where she is majoring in the History of Consciousness. Her path of study aligns with the inventory of her family’s booth, which specializes in the history of ideas, philosophy, poetry, science, psychology and women philosophers. She has been helping her parents since she was 14 years old and recently oversaw a West Coast book fair entirely on her own.

“We sold a boatload of books,” DaSilva’s father, William “Bill” Schaberg, said after the fair, noting that while they didn’t sell any of the five-figure books they’d brought, they wrote about 25 invoices. At previous fairs, he said it was more common for them to sell one or two “really expensive books.” One of the sales he specified was a first edition copy of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, which a trade buyer purchased.

“As long as people read, you’ll have book fairs,” Smith said. While he couldn’t specify the dates for the 2023 NYIABF – the fair is somewhat at the mercy of the scheduling and availability of the armory – information on future events can be found at www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com.

James Cummins Bookseller, New York City in hand with the front page of A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Brontë. Photo courtesy James Cummins Bookseller, New York City.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

David Lilburne had several sheets that depicted various instances of how tea was enjoyed in Chinese society. Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints, Garrison, N.Y.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Antiquariaat Forum was selling all three volumes of John James Audubon’s The various quadrupeds of North America, New York, 1845-1848, with 150 plates (50 in each volume), printed and colored by J.T. Bowen, Philadelphia, lithographed on stone. The set was priced at $682,000.

Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Throughout the show, the sight of dealers showing their wares to interested prospective clients was a common one. Antiquariat Inibris, Vienna, Austria.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Genres were clearly labeled with Athena Rare Books, Fairfield, Conn.

The show floor got a bit of a facelift in the form of higher booth walls, carpeted booths and bare aisles.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

What’s an opening night party without a little food and drink? Within an hour of the Preview Party, the bar at the back of the armory was packed with showgoers. https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

The sight of people carrying their purchases out of the show was a familiar sight over the weekend.

Photo courtesy of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

After two years of virtual events, even a long line at the coat check is bearable, particularly in the grand spaces of the Park Avenue Armory. Photo courtesy of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Tulips welcomed New Yorkers and visitors to the Park Avenue Armory for the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, April 22-24, with a preview party on the evening of April 21.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

On offer with Bauman Rare Books was this copy of Einstein’s Relativity. The Special and General Theory, published in 1931 in New York City. The octavo volume in gilt-stamped navy cloth was inscribed with a rare inscription in Einstein’s characteristic tiny handwriting. New York City.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Highlights from the Sean Thackrey Library, which sold at the fair for $2 million, the highest priced sale reported at the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Ben Kinmont Bookseller, Sebastopol, Calif. Photo courtesy of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

It’s a bit hard to see in this photo but the middle shelves were marked “All books on this shelf $100 or less.” Brenner’s Books, Manasquan, N.J.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Browsing and conversation. Brick Row Book Shop, San Francisco.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Browsing was not only allowed, it was encouraged! This pasttime could be seen practiced throughout the show. Shown here during the preview party was the booth of David Bergman, New York City.

David Brass Rare Books, Inc., Calabasas, Calif.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Beat and counter culture finds with Derringer Books, Avon, Conn.

Scott DeWolfe and Frank Wood were so mobbed during the party that they could not write receipts fast enough. DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books, Alfred, Maine.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Bryce Harlow’s 1970 photograph of the White House was signed by the White House staff members. It was fun to read through to see who would go on to make headlines, like Bill Safire and Al Haig. First Edition Rare Books, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Two of the exhibitors from Italy shared a large booth in the center of the floor. Bibliopathos (Verona) to the left, and Il Cartiglio di Roberto Cena (Turin) to the right.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Safely behind a locked case was Charlotte Brontë’s A Book of Rhymes, which sold for $1.25 million and will be given by the National Libraries to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire. James Cummins Bookseller, New York City.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Media attention was bright when New York City dealer James Cummins unveiled Charlotte Brontë’s A Book of Rhymes. It sold for $1.25 million to the National Libraries, a British charity, which is donating the book to Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

James Gray holding a rare surviving copy of The Sea-Mans Kalendar, which he sold to a state university in the American Midwest. James Gray Bookseller, Princeton, Mass.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Kagerou Bunko, from Tokyo, was the only exhibitor at the NYIABF from Asia.

Les Enluminures, New York City.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Celebrating opening night with Librairie Camille Sourget, Paris.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Lizzyoung Booksellers, Newport, R.I.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Albert Camus’ Les Rats (The Rat) with Lux Mentis Booksellers, Portland, Maine.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Michael Jennings with what he dubbed “the greatest Belle Epoque travel poster.” Neatline Antique Maps, Tiburon, Calif.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

One of Peter Harrington’s high ticket sales was this first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. London. Peter Harrington photo.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, Fla.

There were hardly any new books — perhaps good as this was an antiquarian book fair — but a vegetable collection: Recipes and Rhymes to conquer kids of all ages by Dorothy Perillo Linder was spotted with Sanctuary Books, which published it. New York City.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

With Seth Kaller was this advance text of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. White Plains, N.Y.

Shapero Rare Books was doing a brisk business during the preview party. London.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Stuart Lutz with many of his things, including an archive of Hemingway family documents. Stuart Lutz Historic Documents, South Orange, N.J.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Among those admiring the Hemingway archive with Stuart Lutz were three West Point Cadets, striking in their gray uniforms, the seniors sporting scarlet belts. They had recently studied Hemingway. South Orange, N.J.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Jesse Rossa was ready for the crowds to come a few minutes into the preview party. Triolet Rare Books, Los Angeles.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Type Punch Matrix, Silver Spring, Md.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

Walter Reuben specializes in vintage photographs, lobby cards, posters, scripts and memorabilia, among other things. West Hollywood, Calif.

Peter Blackman with a rare painting done on a ground woven from cobwebs. He said it got a lot of attention during the show. White Fox Rare Books & Antiques, New York City.

https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/baby-bronte-wine-book-collection-headline-nyantiquarian-book-fair/

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Published by The Bee Publishing Company, Newtown, Connecticut

May 13, 2022

INDEXES ON PAGES 36 & 37

The Soviet

Assault On Religion

Q&A: Niles Parker Bertoia Sells Final Offering Of Paul Cole Toy Collection Eyesight & Insight: Lens On American Art Soulis Auction Draws Collectors Of Art Glass, Fine Art & Antiquities Furniture, Asian Lot & Tall Clocks Take Charge At Withington Auction 6

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Newsstand Rate $2.00

Trade, Private Estates Anchor Pook & Pook’s Spring Americana & International Auction ‘Baby Bronte,’ Wine Book Collection Headline NY Antiquarian Book Fair Tremont Combines Audubon, Paintings & Civil War For A $792,000 Sale Martha Stewart Masters The Great American Tag Sale

18 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — May 13, 2022

‘Baby Bronte,’ Wine Book Collection Headline NY Antiquarian Book Fair

One of Peter Harrington’s high ticket sales was this first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. London. Peter Harrington photo.

Among those admiring the Hemingway archive with Stuart Lutz were three West Point Cadets, striking in their gray uniforms, the seniors sporting scarlet belts.

They had recently studied Hemingway.

South Orange, N.J.

Review and Onsite Photos by Madelia Hickman Ring, Editor

Lizzyoung Booksellers, Newport, R.I.

Stuart Lutz with many of his things, including an archive of Hemingway family documents. Stuart Lutz Historic Documents, South Orange, N.J.

Walter Reuben specializes in vintage photographs, lobby cards, posters, scripts and memorabilia, among other things. West Hollywood, Calif.

James Cummins Bookseller, New York City in hand with the front page of A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Brontë.

Photo courtesy James Cummins Bookseller, New York City.

NEW YORK CITY — From April 21-24, 182 exhibitors from four continents, specializing in every genre and vintage of books, manuscripts, maps, documents, ephemera and anything that could be considered even remotely related returned to the Park Avenue Armory for the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF). Skipping just one year — 2021 — because of the pandemic, vendors were nonetheless happy to return and many reported a brisk trade, with some rating this edition among the best in the show’s history.

Sanford Smith, the fair’s long-time manager, was pleased with how the show turned out.

“According to most dealers, it was the best book fair we’ve ever had. For a number of years, many have said it’s the best antiquarian book fair in the world and we had some unbelievable sales.”

Smith populates the drill floor of the armory with three different categories of dealers, from those who do it professionally, semiprofessionally, or those for whom it is a part-time endeavor. Visitors can expect to find a broad range of values, from $25 or

$50 to seven figures, but because the fair is sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, visitors can buy with confidence knowing that any purchase, regardless of price point, has been guaranteed and presented in the most accurate manner possible.

A few changes distinguished this edition from previous ones. On a purely aesthetic note, Smith had increased the height of the side walls from three feet to eight feet tall, and had carpeting only on the booth interiors, leaving the aisles bare. There were a few new faces, but the field of vendors was notably smaller than previously, down from about 205 or 208. Smith attributed this to the several factors, including lingering concerns about Covid-19 among more senior exhibitors and the increased expense and freight time for international vendors.

If the floor saw fewer dealers, the gate was higher than it has been, a good 50 percent higher than it had been in 2020, Smith reported. Doubtless some of the enthusiasm could be chalked up to the excitement of returning to a

Antiquariaat Forum was selling all three volumes of John James Audubon’s The various quadrupeds of North America, New York, 1845-1848, with 150 plates (50 in each volume), printed and colored by J.T. Bowen, Philadelphia, lithographed on stone. The set was priced at $682,000. Utrecht, the Netherlands.

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After two years of virtual events, even a long line at the coat check is bearable, particularly in the grand spaces of the Park Avenue Armory. Photo courtesy of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. live event after a long winter and even longer pandemic closeting but also in part, Smith thought, to how much people love the show.

“They can stay all day and browse. There is the congeniality of talking with exhibitors, all of whom are experts and collectors want to talk to people who know what they are doing.”

One of the most talked about works at the fair was Charlotte Brontë’s A Book of Rhymes, referred to as the “Baby Brontë” because it fits easily in the palm of a small hand and was written in October 1829, when Brontë was 13 years old during her childhood at Haworth Parsonage.

The manuscript was last seen in public in 1916 when Walpole Galleries, New York City, auctioned it. The tiny 15-page manuscript was signed by Brontë no less than 12 times and was the last of two dozen miniature books made by the young Brontë in private hands. Smaller than a playing card, the volume contains ten previously unpublished poems.

Carefully ensconced in a glass case in the booth of New York City bookseller James Cummins, the volume had been priced at $1.25 million.

After the show, it was revealed

What’s an opening night party without a little food and drink? Within an hour of the Preview Party, the bar at the back of the armory was packed with showgoers.

that the book sold to the Friends of the National Libraries, a British charity, which is donating the book to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire. A press release issued by the museum quoted chief curator, Ann Dinsdale, as saying, “It is always emotional when an item belonging to the Brontë family is returned home, and this final little book coming back to the place where it was written after being thought lost is very special for us.”

Another work that attracted considerable media attention before the show, and sold for $2 million, was an archive of more than 700 historic wine reference books and manuscripts that dated back to the Sixth Century. Belonging to California winemaker Sean Thackrey and assembled over decades, the Thackrey Library is one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of wine texts; it includes a Sixth Century papyrus leaf from Egypt that records the sale of grapevines from a monastery to an Egyptian farmer, a Fifteenth Century edition of De Vinis by Arnaldus de Villanova, as well as several Sixteenth Century manuscripts previously owned by the writer and wine merchant, André Simon. The buyer was not dis-

Scott DeWolfe and Frank Wood were so mobbed during the party that they could not write receipts fast enough.

DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books, Alfred, Maine.

Tulips welcomed New Yorkers and visitors to the Park Avenue Armory for the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, April 22-24, with a preview party on the evening of April 21.

Michael Jennings with what he dubbed “the greatest Belle Epoque travel poster.” Neatline Antique Maps, Tiburon, Calif.

David Lilburne had several sheets that depicted various instances of how tea was enjoyed in Chinese society. Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints, Garrison, N.Y.

Browsing was not only allowed, it was encouraged! This pasttime could be seen practiced throughout the show. Shown here during the preview party was the booth of David Bergman, New York City.

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Beat and counter culture finds with Derringer Books, Avon, Conn.

Two of the exhibitors from Italy shared a large booth in the center of the floor. Bibliopathos (Verona) to the left, and Il Cartiglio di Roberto Cena (Turin) to the right.

NY Antiquarian Book Fair

Genres were clearly labeled with Athena Rare Books, Fairfield, Conn.

Type Punch Matrix, Silver Spring, Md.

David Brass Rare Books, Inc., Calabasas, Calif.

closed.

London dealer Peter Harrington reported three highticket sales, including a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which had been priced at $360,000. The 1925 volume, which was part of an original run of just 20,870 copies, was in original, untouched mint condition, a particular rarity given a past trend for restoring damaged editions. The volume was featured in an article written in advance of the fair that appeared in Bloomberg.

Harrington’s two other noteworthy sales were a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, from the Mannheim copy, which New York book dealer Gabriel Wells divided into single leaves or larger fragments and inserted into a Morocco leather portfolio by Stikeman and Company. Rounding out his top trades was a Kelmscott Press 1896 copy of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Works, one of 425 copies that was the result of a four-year collaboration between William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones.

The volume is considered one of the most important books published by Kelmscott Press.

Americana and historical manuscripts dealer Seth Kaller had several enticing pieces in his small booth, including a Suffrage satin tricolor parade sash with provenance to the Cornelia Rose estate, a broadside titled “Some Account of the Bloody Deeds of General Jackson,” a copy of Paul Revere’s “Boston Massacre,” and an advance text of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

Cincinnati, Ohio, dealer Ted Twyman of First Edition Rare Books was making his Antiquarian Book Fair debut and had an impressive White House Historical guide from 1962 that was signed by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy. Barry Harlow’s 1970 White House photograph was signed by members of the White House staff, many of which were involved in Watergate, and he had a copy of Richard Nixon’s memoirs that was inscribed to John McCain’s father, John S. McCain Jr. Twyman said he had had a good show before it even opened, selling some Raymond Chandler books and presidential pieces during set up.

NYIABF encourages booksellers to stock a broad range of price points and you could find that without much diffi-

culty.

Brenner’s Books, Manasquan, N.J., fronted its booth with bookshelves prominently marked with books marked “$100 or less” to entice beginning collectors.

Near the front, a framed circa 1942 Trader Vic’s menu from Oakland, Calif, was priced at $395.

David Lilburne, Antipodean Books, Maps and Prints of Garrison, N.Y., is president of the Ephemera Society of America and has been doing the NYIABF since 1985.

“The show was excellent,” David Lilburne said after the show. “It was both better than we expected and better than in previous years, by a long shot. Trade was aggressive and the show was busy throughout the weekend.

Both Friday and Saturday were jammed and while Sunday was a little less crowded, it was still busy. We sold our last item at 5:05 pm on Sunday evening and first thing Monday morning, I got a call from someone saying, ‘I’ll take [a Toulouse Lautrec poster].’”

Lilburne had a book of Chinese pith pictures in an album with heavily carved boards that he sold to a gentleman who is not in the China market but loved the carved boards and the color of the pith pictures. The same collector also purchased a large, limited edition of Edward Boynton’s History of West Point, which he purchased as a gift for a friend who attended West Point.

Lilburne’s proximity to West Point has led to business and personal relationships with several of the military academy’s staff, including Colonel Dave Harper, who is a professor and head of the department of English and Philosophy. Harper brings the academy’s Rare Book Club to Lilburne’s shop where they can handle books or takes them to a local publisher to see how books are made. One year, Harper asked Lilburne if he could bring his cadets to the armory show; Sanford Smith makes tickets possible so now, every year, about 15 cadets attend. This year, Lilburne said they came with two of the academy’s librarians.

“I’m so happy to be here,” said Princeton, Mass., bookseller James Gray, who noted he took advantage of the pandemic lockdown to research and blog about his inventory, which focuses on early printed books. Among the things in

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Bryce Harlow’s 1970 photograph of the White House was signed by the White House staff members. It was fun to read through to see who would go on to make headlines, like Bill Safire and Al Haig. First Edition Rare Books, Cincinnati, Ohio. his booth that he proudly showed off was the adaption of QR codes that people could scan that would bring up information about each work he was selling.

“I get alerts from the platform that hosts my blog that tells me how many ‘readers’ I have; on a good day, I see between 40 and 50 readers.

Before 9 am on Saturday, I had 146 readers.”

“It was a very good show. I wrote twice as many invoices at that show as I have at any show I’ve ever done; to new and old clients, as well as institutions. I had some substantial purchases, too.” Gray said the level of attention was “much higher” than usual and he was pleased to see that younger people were also buying, with about half of his buyers being younger than him. He met people from all over, including a woman from Melbourne, Australia, who came to New York just to attend the fair. He made sales throughout the weekend, selling out of all his catalogs — a first for him — and in the last two hours of the show, he reported “nice sales to famous collectors, one from New York, the other from Washington.”

One of the sales Gray specified was A Sea Man’s Kalendar, which described navigational routes and would have been kept on board a ship for most of its life. Most were lost overboard or disintegrated from the elements, so it was a particularly rare survivor “It’s really cool because you can see cloth and tar, and lots of binding threads,” Gray point out. He sold it to a state university in the Midwest United States.

One of the younger dealers on the floor, Michael Jennings of Neatline Antique Maps, first did the NYIABF in 2020, before the pandemic so this was his second time exhibiting in New York, but he shows regularly in California and Europe. When asked why he started to focus on maps, he said he had trained as an archaeologist and had always loved them. Among the pieces he pointed out were a Belle Epoque travel poster for around the world travel. For earlier travel, he’d hung an entire wall with early maps.

After the fair, Jennings reported selling a 1535 map to a client who looked at it

during the show and called him the following day to say he wanted it. He said he had at least one sale in the works.

“I think many people are very satisfied with how the fair has been managed. The set up was very well organized,” said Peter Blackman of White Fox Rare Books & Antiques. The New York City dealer characterized trade among dealers as “good.”

After the fair closed, he said the energy was very much like previous New York book fairs and he thought that the expectation that visitors wear masks did not deter people from browsing. He saw strong institutional interest, though he thought attendance was down a bit because of Covid.

When we inquired as to what Blackman had that was very rare, he produced a “Gemalde auf Spinnengewebe” or painting on cobweb that was done by Franz Unterberger (Austria, 1838-1902) circa 1870s and depicted a young boy in Tyrolean garb, in a cardboard frame that measured about 5 by 4 inches. According to the dealer’s website, paintings on material woven from cobweb are quite scarce, with fewer than 100 paintings known to have been done. He had acquired it from a private collection.

One of Blackman’s sales was a set of four adorned engraved prints by Maerten de Vos (1532-1603), which featured Seventeenth Century prints with fabric woven into the paper in the Eighteenth Century. The prints were religious subjects and Blackman said they were scarce, with the Victoria & Albert Museum being one of the only other places to have them. The set sold to a university library in the United States.

Occupying a large booth in the center of the drill floor was Bauman Rare Books.

Among the treasures on offer with the Madison Avenue booksellers and priced at $16,500 was a rare Elizabeth I royal wax seal that had been discovered in a collection of Elizabethan ephemera. The seal was affixed by a ribbon to a single page of vellum granting in a secretarial hand the office of sheriff of the County Palatine of Chester to Thomas Aston, Esq. Of later vintage but also

On offer with Bauman Rare Books was this copy of Einstein’s Relativity. The Special and General Theory, published in 1931 in New York City. The octavo volume in giltstamped navy cloth was inscribed with a rare inscription in Einstein’s characteristic tiny handwriting. New York City.

It’s a bit hard to see in this photo but the middle shelves were marked “All books on this shelf $100 or less.” Brenner’s Books, Manasquan, N.J.

Browsing and conversation. Brick Row Book Shop, San Francisco.

Highlights from the Sean Thackrey Library, which sold at the fair for $2 million, the highest priced sale reported at the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Ben Kinmont Bookseller, Sebastopol, Calif. Photo courtesy of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

Shapero Rare Books was doing a brisk business during the preview party. London.

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Kagerou Bunko, from Tokyo, was the only exhibitor at the NYIABF from Asia.

Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, Fla.

Les Enluminures, New York City.

Throughout the show, the sight of dealers showing their wares to interested prospective clients was a common one. Antiquariat Inibris, Vienna, Austria.

The sight of people carrying their purchases out of the show was a familiar sight over the weekend. Photo courtesy of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

Peter Blackman with a rare painting done on a ground woven from cobwebs. He said it got a lot of attention during the show. White Fox Rare Books & Antiques, New York City.

James Gray holding a rare surviving copy of The SeaMans Kalendar, which he sold to a state university in the American Midwest.

James Gray Bookseller, Princeton, Mass.

with Bauman was a presentation copy of Albert Einstein’s Relativity, The Special and General Theory, published in 1931 in New York City. The octavo volume in gilt-stamped navy cloth was inscribed with a rare inscription in Einstein’s characteristic tiny handwriting “Für Herrn. J.M. Frankel, Albert Einstein, 1933.” Bauman was asking $35,000 for it.

An Ernest Hemingway family archive with Stuart Lutz received a lot of attention.

The group, which he had priced at $200,000, included letters written to his favorite sister Ursula and more than two letters between Ernest and his wife, Mary, written at the time of his suicide. The archive was being sold on behalf of Ursula’s family and had never been offered for sale previously. Of the 51 pieces, which were written between 1908 and 1966, 32 were written by Ernest and topics range from his writing and books to travel, awards,

Media attention was bright when New York City dealer James Cummins unveiled Charlotte Brontë’s A Book of Rhymes. It sold for $1.25 million to the National Libraries, a British charity, which is donating the book to Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire.

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There were hardly any new books — perhaps good as this was an antiquarian book fair — but a vegetable collection: Recipes and Rhymes to conquer kids of all ages by Dorothy Perillo Linder was spotted with Sanctuary Books, which published it. New York City.

The show floor got a bit of a facelift in the form of higher booth walls, carpeted booths and bare aisles.

With Seth Kaller was this advance text of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. White Plains, N.Y. life in Cuba and his family and that of Ursula.

The 2020 NYIABF had been so outstanding for Lutz that this edition paled a little in comparison though he qualified it as “OK.” He appreciates the traffic it gets on Sundays and said he was in negotiations with an institution on the Hemingway archive that, if it goes through, would make the 2022 edition “wonderful.”

Triolet Rare Books specializes in modern literature and avant-garde movements with a focus on poetry, modernism, surrealism, fine printing and the lives of artists. Jesse Rossa had a drawing and two books by Leonora Carrington, as well as works by Leonor Fini, Max Ernst and James Joyce.

In the booth of Athena Rare Books, Fairfield, Conn., Lucy Rose DaSilva was briefly home before her final months as a senior at University of California Santa Cruz, where she is majoring in the History of Consciousness. Her path of study aligns with the inventory of her family’s booth,

which specializes in the history of ideas, philosophy, poetry, science, psychology and women philosophers. She has been helping her parents since she was 14 years old and recently oversaw a West Coast book fair entirely on her own.

“We sold a boatload of books,” DaSilva’s father, William “Bill” Schaberg, said after the fair, noting that while they didn’t sell any of the five-figure books they’d brought, they wrote about 25 invoices. At previous fairs, he said it was more common for them to sell one or two “really expensive books.” One of the sales he specified was a first edition copy of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, which a trade buyer purchased.

“As long as people read, you’ll have book fairs,” Smith said.

While he couldn’t specify the dates for the 2023 NYIABF — the fair is somewhat at the mercy of the scheduling and availability of the armory — information on future events can be found at www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com.

Albert Camus’ Les Rats (The Rat) with Lux Mentis Booksellers, Portland, Maine.

Safely behind a locked case was Charlotte Brontë’s A Book of Rhymes, which sold for $1.25 million and will be given by the National Libraries to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire. James Cummins Bookseller, New York City.

Jesse Rossa was ready for the crowds to come a few minutes into the preview party.

Triolet Rare Books, Los Angeles.

NY Antiquarian Book Fair

Celebrating opening night with Librairie Camille Sourget, Paris.

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Sotheby’s Sells Largest Blue Diamond For $57.5 Million HONG KONG — On April 27, Sotheby’s Hong Kong sold the “De Beers Blue” 15.10-carat step-cut fancy vivid blue diamond, the largest of its kind to ever appear at auction, for $57.5 million, one of the highest prices ever achieved on the open market for diamonds of any color.

Bidding lasted eight minutes between four competitors, who took the price well beyond the $48 million estimate, finally selling to a client bidding on the phone by Wenhoa Yu, chairman of jewelry and watches at Sotheby’s Asia. The final price — $57,471,960 — is a near tie with the current record holder for a blue diamond, achieved by the 14.62-carat “Oppenheimer Blue,” which achieved $57,541,779 when it sold in 2016.

The “De Beers Blue” had been recently cut from a rough stone discovered at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa in 2021, one of very few sources in the world for

Goldstein’s Eagle Bank Flies High For RSL WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — The RSL Auction Company offered 476 lots on Sunday, May 1, in a sale largely comprising of pieces from the Alvin Goldstein collection. Leading the sale at $39,000 — the third highest price ever realized for a still bank at auction — was a circa 1880 American City Bank with wing spread eagle finial. Described in the catalog as “massive in scale,” the piece is one of the most impressive and heaviest toy banks ever created.

The 11½-inch-tall bank was distinguished from others by an extra window on the front panel, text across the entire width of the front façade and side panels with four windows instead of the more typical brick treatment. RSL’s Leon Weiss thought it might be the only known example. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. A more extensive sale recap will appear in a future issue.

extremely rare blue diamonds.

In its masterfully crafted, newly formed state, it reemerged as the largest vivid blue diamond ever to appear at auction and the largest internally flawless step cut vivid blue diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever graded.

For additional information, www.sothebys.com.

Yoakum’s Mount Alpha Dominates At Slocum

I N D E X - 8 0 PA G E S - I N D E X ANTIQUES SHOW REVIEWS (New York City) “Baby Bronte,” Wine Book Collection Headline NY Antiquarian Book Fair ........................18-23 (Katonah, N.Y.) Martha Stewart Masters The Great American Tag Sale ......................................................45-47

AUCTION REVIEWS (Lone Jack, Mo.) Soulis Auction Draws Collectors Of Fine Art, Asian Art & Antiquities .................................... 4 (Downingtown, Penn.) Trade, Private Estates Anchor Pook’s Spring Americana & International Auction .... 15-17 (Sudbury, Mass.) Tremont Combines Audubon, Paintings & Civil War Material ........................................25-27 (Vineland, N.J.) Bertoia Sells Final Offering Of Paul Cole Toy Collection ....................................................32-33 (Boston) Van Cleef & Arpels Pendant/Brooch & Necklace Bring $537,500, Lead For Grogan ......................... 38 (Dallas) Dragonflies And Dollars Soar At Heritage’s Art Glass Sale ................................................................. 38 (Lombard, Ill.) Crowell Plover, Fish Carvings Lead Guyette & Deeter Auction................................................. 38 (Los Angeles) Regency Mirror Was Fairest At Andrew Jones Auctions .......................................................... 38 (Milford, Conn.) Burchfield Does It Best In Shannon’s Fine Art Auction.......................................................... 38 (Peterborough, N.H.) A $48,000 Surprise Tops The Cobbs Final Sale............................................................. 38 (Windsor, Conn.) Chinese Bronze Ding Vessel Exceeds 100 Times Estimate At Nadeau’s .............................. 38 (Goffstown, N.H.) Furniture, Asian Lot & Tall Clocks Take Charge At Withington Auction............................... 48

EXHIBITIONS

BUFORD, GA. — Most of the top lots in Slotin Folk Art’s two-day Self-Taught Art Masterpieces auction April 23-24 sold to private collectors, including Joseph Yoakum’s “Mt. Alpha of Brooks Range Near Wiseman, Alaska U.S.A.,” done in 1970 in pastel, ink and colored pencil on paper measuring 12 by 19 inches. Estimated at $10/15,000, it quickly eclipsed expectations and sold for $40,000, the highest price

realized during the two-day event. Other highlights in the sale that found new homes with private collectors were a Lanier Meaders jack-o-lantern devil face jug that set a record at $23,750, and two oil on canvas works by Marian Spore Bush that brought $30,000 and $17,500, respectively. All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium. A more extensive sale review will be featured in an upcoming issue.

‘Arghavan Khosravi’ At Currier Museum Explores Oppression & Liberation MANCHESTER, N.H. — The Currier Museum of Art is presenting the work of Iranian painter Arghavan Khosravi in her first museum exhibition. The artist creates surrealist images that explore themes of exile, suppression and empowerment.

Drawn from the artist’s memories, the enigmatic compositions center on women protagonists and allude to the restriction of human rights, particularly those of immigrants. Her work is partly autobiographical — a visual manifestation of her feelings as an Iranian woman artist now living in the United States. At the same time, the work is universal in its presentation of shared struggles and emotions.

“Arghavan Khosravi” will be on

view through September 5, featuring more than 20 works in a range of styles. In some, Khosravi uses printed textiles from Iran as canvas, weaving the patterns into compositions and subjects.

In others, she experiments with three-dimensional components, building shaped wood panels that create optical illusions that augment the painted surfaces.

Currier Museum of Art is at 150 Ash Street. For information, www.currier.org or 603-669-6144.

Correction The date Martha Stewart’s Great American Tag Sale will air on ABC is May 25, not April 25 as indicated in our May 6 issue. We regret the error.

(Catskill, N.Y.) Thomas Cole National Historic Site Opens Studio-Centric Exhibition ........................................ 3 (Long Island City, N.Y.) SculptureCenter Announces Commissioned Works For Signature Open Call .............. 5 (New Canaan, Conn.) Turning 100, Silvermine Asks Artists To Consider The Next Century .............................. 7 (New York City & Online) Helicline Fine Art Exhibits Art Of Performance .......................................................... 9 (Shelburne, Vt.) Eyesight & Insight: Lens On American Art At Shelburne Museum ........................................ 10 (Woodbury, Conn.) Glebe House To Host Spring Tea ...................................................................................... 11 (New York City) “Eternal Beauty Of Stone” At Nippon Club ............................................................................. 28 (Clinton, Mass.) Images Of Atheism: The Soviet Assault On Religion ........................................................29-31 (Clinton, Mass.) Symbols Of Renewal For Spring ........................................................................................... 31 (Milford, N.H.) NH Antique Co-Op Exhibits “New England Seasons: An Impressionistic View” ...................... 44 (Savannah, Ga.) William O. Golding’s Maritime Drawings On View At Savannah’s Telfair Museums .............. 44

AND ALSO...

Across The Block .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Estate Sales ................................................................................................................................................... 28 Historic Homes Georgia Trust For Historic Preservation Presents Best Of Presentation Awards............................................ 40 International..............................................................................................................................................42-43 Q&A Niles D. Parker ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Transitions...................................................................................................................................................... 34 (Washington DC) Library Of Congress Acquires Neil Simon Papers ................................................................. 8 (Wilmington, Del.) Wyeth Foundation Establishes Collection Sharing Agreement For Andrew Wyeth Works ..... 9 Incised Hunting Scene Inkstands Of Frederick Pflieger ................................................................................... 14 (Torrington, Conn.) Five Points Arts Awarded $7,500 Grant ........................................................................... 28 (New York City) Museum Of Arts & Design Names New Deputy Directors ..................................................... 34 (Philadelphia) Museum Of The American Revolution To Receive $50 Million From Lenfest Estate ................. 34 (San Simeon, Calif.) California’s Hearst Castle To Reopen After Pandemic, Damage ...................................... 34 (Los Angeles) Paintings, Stone Axes Repatriated To Peru In Los Angeles Ceremony ..................................... 41 (New York City) Lost For Decades, Dorothy’s Dress From “Oz” Up For Sale ................................................... 41 (Philadelphia) Three Institutions Collaborate On First Major Exhibition Devoted To Matisse In 1930s ............ 42 (Athens, UK, USA) Works From Daskalopoulos Collection Donated Globally.................................................. 43 (Venice, Italy) Female Artists Dominate The Venice Biennale For First Time ................................................... 43 (Columbia, S.C.) Group Wants To Honor Doolittle Raiders With SC Museum ................................................. 44

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Published by The Bee Publishing Company, Newtown, Connecticut

April 8, 2022

INDEXES ON PAGES 36 & 37

S E R I O U S P L AY ‘Virtual Realities: The Art of M.C. Escher’

A T

T H E

M F A

H O U S T O N Q&A: Aimee Froom

Knowlton Knew Best! Disney, Japanese Toys Dominate At Bertoia Pop Culture ‘Unicorns’ Rounded Up In Hake’s Auction Heritage Nets $1.8 Million For Inaugural J. Doyle Dewitt Americana & Political Collection

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Newsstand Rate $2.00

Fine Art Finds New Collections In Rachel Davis Fine Arts Sale ‘Best Ever’ Folk Art Auction For Ledbetter Fox Valley Show, Trimmed Down For Spring, Brings Highest Sell-Through Rate To Date Copake’s Leaderboard Shows Category Diversity

A Morgan Library Showcase Woody Guthrie: People Are The Song

American Bottle Auctions Sells Part II Of Mel Hammer Collection

A Charles Rohlfs Gem & Tiffany Lamp Lineup At Cottone Auctions

Miller’s Ratafia Bitters Sets New Record Of $29,900

April 8, 2022 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 7

Jointly Promoted With Roland Auctions NY—

Salmagundi Club To Host Two-Day Fundraising Auction April 8-9

Elizabeth Myers Castonguay, “Tree of knowledge (Endangered),” 16 by 20 by 2 inches (starting bid $1,900).

Joseph McGurl, “Evening Light on the River,” oil, 16 by 20 by 1 inches (starting bid $3,000).

NEW YORK CITY — Salmagundi Club will host a two-day fundraising auction, being copresented by Roland Auctions NY, on Friday, April 8, at 8 pm and Saturday, April 9, at noon.

Both sessions will be conducted live at the Salmagundi Club, as well as online. Roland Auctions NY will conduct the auctions to spotlight many of the club’s top emerging and established artists. The auction will feature all original portraits, still lifes, landscapes, photography and other genres, with all purchases to support both the artist and the club.

Salmagundi’s auctions have operated continuously since the late 1870s. “With starting prices as low as $150, all set at 30 percent of typical gallery prices, this is a unique opportunity to own a piece of American art history,” says Nick Dawes, Salmagundi’s

chairman. More than 200 original works of art, including 20 historic works from Salmagundi Club’s archive collection, will be offered, with bidding live, by absentee, phone or internet.

A unique addition is the Judy Daniele Marsh bequest of 30 paintings, most purchased 20 years ago and recently donated in memory of Judy Daniele Marsh, a longtime patron of the club.

Lots 1 through 64 will be auctioned as part of the festivities on Friday evening, April 8, at 8 pm, along with an $150 per person (open to the public) pre-auction dinner in the Skylight Gallery and Dining Room at Salmagundi Club beginning at 6 pm. The remaining 150 lots will be auctioned on Saturday.

Dawes will host the pre-auction dinner on Friday, which includes a cocktail reception, a

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Announces ABAA Connect NEW YORK CITY – The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) — officially sanctioned by the ABAA and ILAB and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates — announced ABAA Connect, a program making its return for the book fair’s 62nd Edition on April 21-24.

A program resurrected from the early 2000s, ABAA Connect allows local institutions, including the New York Public Library and Columbia University, to request items at the fair from exhibitors, and have those items purchased for the institutions by various donors.

Curators will browse a list of items exhibitors will be bringing to the fair and choose items they are interested in acquiring. Curators and donors will attend the fair and discover these items together in person, and donors can purchase them for the institutions requesting them.

The NYIABF said it hopes this program will expose curators to exciting items, connect booksellers with new curators and institutions, entice donors to attend the fair and purchase items for institutions and their personal collections, and

“Full Circle” oil painting of a ferret on a log with starting bid of $2,100; and a Joseph McGurl “Evening Light on the River” oil tour of the auction by Jacob landscape depicting a view of Collins, a three-course dinner Battery Park from across the river with starting bid of $3,000. and part one of the auction.

Auction highlights on April 9 Roland Auctions NY was a downtown neighbor of the Sal- include a Werner Rentsch magundi Club for more than 40 “Gypsy Horse Sale,” oil with years before relocating to Long starting bid of $1,500; a Werner Island’s Glen Cove in 2018. “We Rentsch “Turkish Horse Cart” are honored and delighted to be oil painting depicting a horse helping Salmagundi Club with pulling a Turkish cart with this historic event,” said Wil- starting bid of $1,500; and Elealiam Roland, company founder nor Sackett’s “Frances,” an oil and president, who will also painting of the artist’s grandserve as auctioneer for a por- daughter at six months old with starting bid of $1,500. Also tion of the event.

Highlights of the April 8 ses- offered will be a Paula Holtzclaw sion will include Lucas Bononi’s “Milk Jug and Cotton” oil still “Shannon,” oil on panel, with life depicting a brass bowl and starting bid of $1,700; an Eliza- pottery with cotton with a startbeth Myers Castonguay “Tree of ing bid of $1,600; and ChristoKnowledge (Endangered)” acryl- pher Zhang’s “Bryant Park ic with imported archival hand- Night, nighttime scene rendered made paper, with starting bid of in oil, depicting Bryant Park $1,900; a Francis Nguyen mar- after rain with light reflections ble female torso with starting with a starting bid of $1,700.

A&AofWeekly Wanted September 21.qxp_Layout 1 9/10/21 AM Page Uniquely, the art6:17 auction also1 bid $2,000; a Diego Glazer

Walter Hatke, “Memory Trunk,” oil on linen, 25 by 32 by 1½ inches (starting bid $2,600).

inspire any fairgoer to become a donor.

“We’re back! The NYIABF is back, and we’re bringing back a program that will help connect us after such a long time of quarantine and isolation,” said Sunday Steinkirchner vice-chair of the ABAA MidAtlantic Chapter and Chair of the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. “ABAA Connect will bring together NYC-area institutions, their curators and librarians, donors and booksellers and the unique items that they sell. This will all happen in person at the Park Avenue Armory, and we couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity.”

For additional information, www.nyantiquarianbookfair. com or 212-777-5218.

UNIVERSITY PARK, PENN. — “A Way Through: Abstract Art of the 1940s,” on view to May 15 at the Palmer Museum of Art on the campus of Penn State University, considers how some of the most provocative midcentury artists made the leap from figuration to abstraction in New York City. Palmer Museum is on Curtin Road. For information, 814-865-7673 or www.palmermuseum.psu.edu.

offers the opportunity to commission one of America’s leading artists to paint a portrait, landscape or still life (composed of one’s favorite objects). The auction will feature a portrait commission by artist Lucas Bononi, as well as a still life by Bonini, who is a Los Angeles painter living and working in New York City and an instructor at the Grand Central Atelier.

He has solo exhibitions across Manhattan.

The landscape commission being auctioned is by Indianaborn landscape and portrait artist Tyler Moore, who attended both the Florence Academy of Art (US branch) as well as Grand Central Atelier to further his studies in fine art. He now resides between Brooklyn and Rhinebeck, N.Y., creating studio paintings and commissioned works.

The Salmagundi Club is at 47 Fifth Avenue. For information, www.salmagundi.org or 212255-7740.

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April 8, 2022 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 37

Edward C. ‘Ned’ Johnson III, Fidelity Investments CEO & Art Collector, 91 WELLINGTON, FLA. — Edward Crosby “Ned” Johnson III, passed away on Wednesday, March 23, at his Wellington home at the age of 91. The news was announced by his daughter, Abigail Johnson, the current chairman and chief executive officer of Fidelity Investments, via LinkedIn. He was described by her as loving “his family, his coworkers, work, the stock market, art and antiquities, tennis, skiing, sailing, history and a good debate. He could be counted on to have the contrarian view on just about anything. He will be missed by many.”

No cause of death was given.

Born June 29, 1930, in Boston, he grew up in Milton; his mother, Elsie, was a homemaker and his father, Edward C. Johnson II, was the founder in 1949 of the Fidelity Investments, which Ned would eventually take over.

Johnson attended Milton Academy prep school and Tabor Academy, ultimately graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in 1954. He joined Fidelity Investments as a research analyst in 1957, after a brief stint in the US Army. In 1960, Johnson became the portfolio manager for the Fidelity Trend Fund and ran the Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1963 to 1977. From 1972 to 1977, he was president and served as chairman and chief executive officer from 1977 until his retirement in 2016. He oversaw the company’s transformation from a small, regional mutual fund company into one of the world’s largest and most diversified financial services firms. Through his vision of making investment products and services accessible and affordable to average Americans, he helped spur the explosive growth of personal investing over the past four decades.

At the time of his passing, Forbes estimated his net wealth to be $10.1 billion, earning him the ranking as the 67th richest person in the United States The Johnson family had been long-time discrete phi-

lanthropists in the Boston art world; the Edward C. Johnson Fund, a $334 million charitable fund established in 1964, contributes to institutions in the Boston area and beyond with an emphasis on museums historical societies, medical institutions and some youth programs. It also supports the visual arts, historic preservation, higher education, elementary and secondary schools and environmental organizations.

According to an August 22, 2015, article in the Boston Globe, Johnson “quietly built one of the most valuable art collections in New England,” as well as acquired works for museums in the Boston area.

He purchased Benjamin West’s “Devout Men Taking the Body of Saint Stephen” from an English church for $2.85 million and gave it to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to honor departing director Malcolm Rogers. One of his best known acquisitions is the $16.8 million historic Yin Yu Tang Chinese house that had been dismantled in China and rebuilt at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass.

Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo executive director and chief executive officer of the Peabody Essex Museum said, “Ned Johnson was a Medici man. His far-ranging love and support of art, culture and history had inestimable impact, including at the Peabody Essex Museum. We are tremendously grateful for his belief in our museum as an agent for change. His generosity enhanced many areas of our collection, and he played such an important role in moving and re-erecting Yin Yu Tang, a Qing dynasty Chinese merchant house, at the museum. His commitment to cultural exchange was inspiring.”

Johnson loaned his art for public view through his Brookfield, Mass.-based Brookfield Arts Foundation, which had assets of $262 million in 2013. In addition to fine art, Johnson’s collection

‘Remembering The Dynamic Duo — Rocket Ron & Eileen Rhoads’ SUBMITTED BY JIM SITTIG WAVERLY, PENN. — For me, my friendship with the “Rocket” began at the first Atlantic City Show, when Ronnie invited me to share the right side of the stage of the show; he claimed the floor for his rugs and offered the walls to me. On the second day of the show, Ron, with all the excitement of a schoolboy on a baseball team hitting his first home run, said, “Don’t show this to anyone.” My reply was, “What is it?” Covered in a towel was a battered pedal car, the kind we used to trash when we were kids; I looked at him and knew he was serious, I told him not to

worry, half embarrassed, especially when he told me how much he was going to sell it for. Sure enough, later that day he showed me a check for a mid-five figure sum. It was then I knew you had to take the “Rocket” seriously. Eileen, always gracious, was the “Rockets” lightning rod, always there to ground him. I was shocked to see them on the same page in an obituary, being taken by a virus that has claimed more than a million souls, I would have thought it would have taken a steamroller to take the “dynamic duo.” It just shows how fragile we all are, and life is way too short.

had an emphasis in Asian works of art and American furniture and decorative arts.

Johnson and his wife, Elizabeth B. “Lillie” Johnson, were trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Winterthur Museum, located outside Wilmington, Del. The couple also lived in Boston.

Johnson is survived by his wife, daughters Abigail and Elizabeth, and son, Edward Johnson IV, as well as seven grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are private. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Photo courtesy Investments.

Fidelity

I N D E X - 6 4 PA G E S - I N D E X ANTIQUES SHOW REVIEWS (Online) Fox Valley Show, Trimmed Down For Spring, Brings Highest Sell-Through Rate To Date .. 15-19

AUCTION REVIEWS (Copake, N.Y.) Copake’s Leaderboard Shows Category Diversity ............................................................ 4 (Geneseo, N.Y.) A Charles Rohlfs Gem & Tiffany Lamp Lineup At Cottone Auctions ............................ 20 (Dallas) Heritage Nets $1.8 Million For J. Doyle Dewitt Americana & Political Collection ................ 22-23 (Gibsonville, N.C.) “Best Ever” Folk Art Auction Reports Matt Ledbetter .............................................. 24 (Vineland, N.J.) Knowlton Knew Best! Disney, Japanese Toys Dominate At Bertoia ........................ 28-31 (Cleveland, Ohio) Fine Art Finds New Collections In Rachel Davis Fine Arts Sale ............................. 32-33 (Asheville, N.C.) Peale’s Washington Miniature Dominates For Brunk .................................................. 38 (Dallas) Martian Meteorite Soars To Great Heights For Heritage ........................................................... 38 (Dallas) Six-Panel Chinese Screen Brings Five-Times Estimate At Heritage .......................................... 38 (Manchester, N.H.) Peter Tillou Sword Collection & Firearms Draw Strong Bidding At Amoskeag ....... 38 (New York City) Benjamin Banneker’s 1792 Almanac Reaches $75,000 At Swann Auction .................. 38 (New York City) Bidders Go Long For Huanghuali Table At Bonhams Chinese Works Of Art Sale ......... 38 (Oakland, Calif.) Clars Shatters Loie Hollowell’s US Auction Record ..................................................... 38 (Hudson, N.Y.) Silver & Masterfully Decorated Home Bring In High Bids At Stair Galleries .................. 39 (York, Penn.) Pop Culture “Unicorns” Rounded Up In Hake’s Auction ............................................. 40-41 (Sacramento, Calif.) American Bottle Auctions Sells Part II Of Mel Hammer Collection ........................ 42 (New Hamburg, Ontario) Photos, Vintage Jukeboxes, Mechanical Banks Lead At Miller & Miller......... 44

EXHIBITIONS (Tacoma, Wash.) Tacoma’s “Departures And Divisions” Surveys New American Art Aesthetics ............. 3 (New York City) Woody Guthrie: People Are The Song At Morgan Library & Museum ........................... 8 (Brockton, Mass.) Fuller Craft Museum Unveils Craft Biennial .............................................................. 12 (Fort Worth, Texas) Sub-Saharan Art Aesthetics Surveyed At Kimbell Art Museum Exhibition ............. 21 (Norfolk, Va.) Ancient & Contemporary Torah Pointers In Chrysler Museum’s “Guiding Hand” ........... 21 (Online) William Hosley Presents American Cultural Material Webinar Series ...................................... 25 (Houston, Texas) Serious Play – “Virtual Realities: The Art Of M.C. Escher” At MFA Houston ......... 26-27 (Los Angeles) Getty Exhibition Explores Hebrew Bible Through Christian Eyes .................................... 33 (Xi’an, China) Terracotta Warriors, “Friendship Ambassador” Unveiled In Japan.................................. 44 (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Amsterdam Gallery Exhibits Photographs Recreating Golden Age ...... 45

AND ALSO...

Across The Block .................................................................................................................................. 10 Estate Sales ......................................................................................................................................... 39 Historic Homes (Richmond, Va.) Virginia Adds Nine Historic Sites To State Landmarks Register ................................. 43 International.................................................................................................................................... 44-45 Q&A: Amiee Froom ................................................................................................................................. 1 Transitions............................................................................................................................................ 34 (Cambridge, Mass.) Harvard Art Museums Receive American Silver Gift ............................................... 5 (New York City) New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Announces ABAA Connect ..................... 7 (Norwalk, Conn.) New Trustees Join Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s Board .......................... 13 (Greenwich, Conn.) Bruce Museum Receives Duck Stamp Artwork Gift ............................................... 14 (Great Falls, Mont.) C.M. Russell Museum’s Art & Soul Campaign Exceeds Endowment Goal ............. 34 (Los Angeles) $350 Million Frank Gehry-Designed Colburn Center To Boost LA’s Cultural Corridor ..... 34 (Richmond, Va.) Virginia Museum Receives Gift Worth Nearly $60 Million .......................................... 34 (Dallas) Most Wanted Art Card Deck Encourages People To Hunt For Missing Masterpieces ............... 41 (London) Bonhams Acquires Danish Auction House Bruun Rasmussen .............................................. 44 (Versailles, France) Versailles Acquires Previously Unpublished Young Marie-Antionette Painting ...... 44 (Swindon, U.K.) Three Gunpowder Plot Era Paintings Repatriated After Conservation ......................... 45

ISSUE 2530 | antiquestradegazette.com | 19 February 2022 | UK £4.99 | USA $7.95 | Europe €5.50

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Messum bangs drum for Newlyn school A rare opportunity to gauge the market for a major Newlyn School painting came at David Lay’s latest auction in Penzance when a lively and clamorous scene by Stanhope Forbes (1857-1947) was offered with a £120,000-180,000 estimate.

Large-scale and important pictures by Forbes, often described as the ‘father’ of the group of artists who settled in the 19th century, are not in strong supply and over four years has passed since one emerged at auction.

Soldiers and Sailors, a 4ft 11in x 6ft 3in (1.5 x 1.9m) oil on canvas depicting Salvation Army members in full song on the banks of a harbour, had been exhibited at The Royal Academy in 1891. While the fact that it had never been offered at auction stood in its favour, the condition was more of an issue

Coins & medals special report ATG’s annual review of the London numismatic market reveals a record year with Dix Noonan Webb back on top. See pages 12-20

– it had been restored twice and it was a matter of conjecture as to whether the removal of the additional layers of restoration and varnish would reveal the underlying quality of the painting.

A few people who may otherwise have been interested therefore held back, but one dealer who decided to make the trip to Cornwall to view it was David Messum.

The dealer who has been handling Newlyn School pictures since the mid-1970s and who now has premises in both London and Buckinghamshire was impressed with the work and said it was possibly the only one by Forbes from this period and of this size not in a museum. “It’s a very important work, but I didn’t think I’d be able to buy it,” he told ATG. Continued on page 6

Above: Soldiers and Sailors by Stanhope Forbes – £155,000 at David Lay.

Antique ivory trade ban now weeks away

by Laura Chesters The near-total ban on the trade in antique ivory in the UK promised three years ago is just a matter of weeks away from enforcement.

On February 3 the government laid out a statutory instrument (a form of legislation) that sets out the provisions for the operation of exemptions under the Ivory Act. A new digital service will be launched on February 24 allowing

dealers, auctioneers and collectors to register and certify exempted ivory items they want to sell – with enforcement beginning in the spring.

Once it is enforced it will be illegal to deal in ivory works of art unless the item meets one of the five narrow exemptions and is registered or has an exemption certificate.

The digital service will allow applicants to apply for certificates and

The 5 exemptions to the ban are: ■ Pre-1947 items containing less than 10% ivory by volume.

■ Pre-1975 musical instruments containing less than 20% ivory by volume.

■ Pre-1918 portrait miniatures with a surface area of no more than 320 sq cm ■ Sales to, and hire agreements with, qualifying museums.

■ Pre-1918 items with outstanding

Continued on page 4

Art & Antiques for Everyone Spring Edition 2022 7-10th April, Hall 12, NEC Birmingham FREE Visitor Tickets. FREE Parking. FREE Talks with BBC Antiques Roadshow Experts Great deals for new Exhibitors.

T: 07847 487 595 ANTIQUESFOREVERYONE.CO.UK @aafefairs

News

Stanhope Forbes RA exhibit sells in Penzance Continued from front page At the auction, the bidding opened below £100,000 and went up in increments of £1000 as Messum competed with a private collector and a local institution. The dealer eventually secured it at £155,000 (plus 18% buyer’s premium).

“It’s an evocative piece of English social realism – ‘honest endeavour’ was the watchword for the Newlyn school at this time.

“The scene was clearly quite an occasion with the singing of gospel songs and the crowd of

Above: Soldiers and Sailors by Stanhope Forbes, a detail.

and the old seaman, made for a real suite of character studies.”

Graham Budd ownership change Graham Budd Auctions is under new ownership, with its founder becoming chairman.

Former Sotheby’s director Graham Budd founded the sports memorabilia specialist 18 years ago and has recently agreed a sale to a syndicate led by businessman Tim Murphy.

As part of the deal Adam Gascoigne, who runs sports memorabilia conservators and

owner and art collector George McCulloch, who paid £900 for it shortly after it was completed.

It may also have been in the collection of Lady Louis

Messum conceded that it may have made more had the condition been different but remained hopeful that any “Crucially the lining is good, so we’re hoping some further restoration and cleaning will come off.”

He aims to exhibit it alongside two further major Newlyn School paintings in stock – Frank Bramley’s Weaving a chain of grief and Thomas Cooper Gotch’s Sharing the Catch, the latter shown alongside Soldiers and Sailors at the 1891 RA show.

The picture came to auction from a family which had acquired it privately in 1982. It had earlier provenance to the mine

the 20th century. It later came to be held by one Mr Boyle, an art dealer in Brighton in the 1950s, but by this time had been removed from its frame and rolled up, possibly to protect it during the Blitz.

The price in Cornwall appears for the artist, The Seine Boat from 1904 making a record £1.1m at Phillips back in June 2000 (a picture which Messum himself had sold some years before).

Alex Capon

Arne went to work on an egg Among the top sales at the winter edition of The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair last month was this 1963 Arne Jacobsen leather egg chair and ottoman. It was priced in the region of £18,500 on the stand of Foster & Gane.

Now in its 37th year, the Battersea Park fair took place from January 25-30. See Dealers’ Diary, page 42-43.

framers Sportsframe, is now CEO. Murphy said: “Graham Budd, the company and the man, are synonymous with a passion for sport and a deep understanding of the market and we plan to build on this.”

Currently Graham Budd Auctions holds four specialist sports memorabilia auctions a year alongside a series of dedicated timed auctions and exclusive private sales.

From left: Graham Budd is now chairman of Graham Budd Auctions and Adam Gascoigne is CEO, following the sale to a syndicate led by businessman Tim Murphy.

Winter Show and NY book fair announce April dates

6 | 19 February 2022

Left: The Winter Show will hold its 68th edition of the fair at 660 Madison Avenue on April 1-10.

Image: Owen Walz

The Winter Show and The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) have both announced April dates for their events this year.

New York art and antiques fair The Winter Show had to postpone its January event at the Park Avenue Armory “due to the recent surge of Covid-19 cases in New York City and the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant”.

Instead, it will take place on April 1-10 in the former Barneys New York department store at 660 Madison Avenue in

Manhattan. The opening night will be March 31 and the fair features 62 dealers in booths across four f loors of the

building.

The Winter Show, run by charity East Side House, will return in 2023 to its long-time

home at the Armory.

Helen Allen, The Winter Show executive director, said: “Although it will look slightly different from the fair we have become so familiar with, this is a true comeback story that can only happen in New York. “ T he success of our exhibitors is at the forefront of our decisions, and we are excited to offer such a dynamic platform at 660 Madison to

showcase their works.”

Armory return After a postponement in 2021, NYIABF, the fair supported by A ntiquarian Booksellers’ A ssociation of A merica (ABAA) and International L eag ue of A ntiquar ian Booksellers (ILA B) and managed by Sanford L Smith + Associates, returns to the Park Avenue Armory on April 21-24.

Nearly 200 exhibitors from 14 countries will stand at the 62nd edition of the event including 19 new exhibitors. antiquestradegazette.com

https://atg.news/2zaGmwp ISSUE 2538 | antiquestradegazette.com | 16 April 2022 | UK £4.99 | USA $7.95 | Europe €5.50

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‘Happy Easter’ after Darwin books returned

by Laura Chesters

Above: six plates from the Sèvres rouge décor étrusque

The book trade has called for institutions to be more proactive in reporting missing items after two notebooks belonging to Charles Darwin were mysteriously returned to Cambridge University Library.

The pair, one of which contains the 1837 ‘Tree of Life’ sketch, were returned anonymously on March 9 to the library in a pink gift bag with the printed message Librarian Happy Easter x. They had been missing for two decades.

For many years, the library believed that the notebooks had been misplaced somewhere in the vast storerooms that are

£36,000 at Golding Young & Mawer.

Sèvres ‘Etruscan’ plates receive just desserts in Lincolnshire

by Roland Arkell Plates from a documented mid-19th century Sèvres dessert set sold for £36,000 at Golding Young & Mawer in Grantham on April 6.

The six elements from the rouge décor étrusque service made for Prince Napoleon (1822-91) in 1856 came for sale from a Leicestershire deceased estate.

The dinner and dessert service is thought to have been ordered by the nephew of Napoleon I (Napoleon-Joseph

-Charles-Paul Bonaparte) for his mistress, the actress Elisabeth Félix (1821-58), better known only as Mademoiselle Rachel.

Delivered on October 18, 1856, it was to be used in the ‘salle à manger pompéienne’ in the ‘Etruscan’ house the Prince had built on the east side of the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

The Sèvres factory archives contain full records of the order. The dessert pieces – the most splendidly decorated

Continued on page 4

First timers offered chance at TEFAF

by Frances Allitt TEFAF Maastricht hosts 19 first-time exhibitors this year plus six new galleries in its Showcase.

It is a significant number for the fair, despite overall dealer numbers being down on the last in-person event in 2020. This staging includes 242 from 20 countries, in contrast to the previous edition which had

Continued on page 4 Continued on page 4

Budget buying: Many ways to enjoy antiques shopping without breaking the bank – page 28-33

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Contents Issue 2538

Antiques Trade Gazette

@ATG_Editorial

Read top stories every day on our website antiquestradegazette.com Follow us on Twitter

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News

In The News

page 4 & 6

News Digest

SUBSCRIPTIONS ENQUIRIES

page 8-9

Auction Reports HAMMER HIGHLIGHTS page 12-16

Bark at that

EDITORIAL

Staffordshire greyhounds auction result is thought to be a record

ADVERTISING

page 8

AUCTION ADVERTISING

ART MARKET page 18-20

NON-AUCTION & FAIRS AND MARKETS ADVERTISING

BOOKS AND WORKS ON PAPER page 22-23

CLASSIFIED

Previews

page 24 & 26 INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING

Feature - items under £1000 CALENDAR CONTROLLER

page 28-33

Dealers’ Diary

ATG PRODUCTION

page 36 & 38 SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES

International Events

page 39-47

UK Auction Calendar

page 48-54

Fairs, Markets & Centres page 56-59

The Back Page

page 63

Physical education

recycle

Spotlight on the rising number of dealers making a return to ‘bricks and mortar’ premises page 36

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PAGE 002 2538.indd 1

antiquestradegazette.com

08/04/2022 11:49:21

News

US bidder chooses French seasons from Spain

by Roland Arkell A hitherto unrecorded set of four late 17th or early 18th century marble seasons statues took £230,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at Summers Place Auctions in West Sussex on March 29.

The French statues came for sale from La Granja Vella de Mati Codolar, a country house in Barcelona that is now a religious retreat.

Unlike later copies from the 19th and 20th century, full sets of figures from this period are rare on the market. The inspiration for this set almost certainly comes from those created for the gardens of Versailles in the second half of the 17th century.

The figures of Spring and Winter bear similarities to statues created by the court sculptor Jean Thierry (16691739), engravings of which were produced by Simon Thomassin

(1655-1733) and published in 1694 as Recueil des Figures, Groupes, Thermes, Fontaines, Vases Et Autres Ornemons dansle Chateau et Parc de Versailles. As was often the case when a sculptor worked from an engraving of the original, the image of Flora is reversed.

The four figures assume the standard vocabulary of the period. Spring is depicted as a young woman holding flowers, Summer as a semi-clad female figure with a sickle and ears of corn, Autumn as Bacchus holding grapes and vine leaves and Winter as an old man thickly clad against the cold.

As they vary in height from 5ft 10in (1.78m) to 6ft 2in (1.9m), have different shaped bases and unfinished backs, it app e a r s t hey were commissioned for a specific location, possibly in niches where the backs would not be seen. They now come with later sandstone pedestals.

James Rylands, director at

Summers Place, said the group, which had been estimated at £180,000, sold to a North American private collector after interest from the Far East and Europe.

“The price is a reflection of the rarity of these wonderful Four Seasons and an opportunity to acquire one of the very few sets of life-size marble seasons to have come on the market for a considerable time,” Rylands added.

Above: a set

£230,000 at Summers

Michelangelo will go to auction granted an export licence, enabling it to be offered “without any restriction to collectors worldwide” according to Christie’s.

Dated to the end of the 15th century, Christie’s stated it is “probably the earliest surviving nude study by the artist”. The central figure is based on the shivering man from The Baptism of the Neophytes, one of the frescoes in the Santa Maria del Carmine Church in Florence painted

by Masaccio (1401-28).

by Alex Capon A Michelangelo (1475-1564) drawing previously declared a ‘National Treasure’ in France will be offered at Christie’s following the expiry of its export block.

The sketch is one of only a small number of drawings by Michelangelo still remaining in private hands.

Christie’s has estimated it ‘in the region of €30m’ for its sale in Paris on May 18.

Part of a private French collection, the 13 x 8in (33 x 20cm) pen and ink sold at an auction at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris in 1907 as a work of the school of Michelangelo. However, in 2019, it was identified as an autograph work by Furio Rinaldi, then a specialist in Christie’s department of Old Master Drawings.

The attribution to the master has been supported by Paul Joannides, emeritus professor of art history at Cambridge University and author of the complete catalogues of drawings

by Michelangelo and his school in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and the Louvre.

Following its rediscovery, the 6 | 16 April 2022

PAGE 001, 004, 006 2538.indd 4

Chardin sale

Above: a nude young man (after Masaccio) surrounded by estimated ‘in the region of €30m’

drawing was designated a French National Treasure which prevented it from being exported for 30 months, giving time for cultural bodies to raise funds to buy the picture.

The recent expiry of this time limit has meant that it has now been

Another important Old Master sold recently in France is likely to be blocked from export after the Louvre announced its intention to raise funds to acquire it.

Jean Siméon Chardin’s (16991779) Basket of Wild Strawberries sold at Artcurial in Paris for €20.5m (£17.425m) – €24.4m (£20.7m) with premium – and was bought by the New York dealer Adam Williams (ATG No 2536).

However, the Louvre’s intervention means that an advisory commission is expected to recommend that it be classed as a National Treasure. See International Events page 42).

Above left Above right

Brontë manuscript on sale at NY book fair A recently rediscovered miniature book by Charlotte Brontë (1816-55) is on offer at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) this month.

It will be on display at the stand of James Cummins Bookseller of New York and is being offered in conjunction with London dealer Maggs Brothers on behalf of the owner, a private individual. It is understood to have a price in the region of $1.25m.

The miniature manuscript, titled A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself, is a collection of 10 poems written by her at the age of 13. The 15-page manuscript, smaller than a playing card, is dated December 1829, and is stitched in its original brown paper covers.

In 2019 The Brontë Parsonage Museum bought an 1830 autograph miniature manuscript by a 14-year-old Charlotte when it was auctioned at Aguttes in Paris. Written in minute characters in imitation of print, the tiny hand-sewn book is one of a series of ‘magazines’ created by siblings Cha rlot t e a nd Branwell Brontë from January 1829 to August 1830.

The New York book fair runs from April 21-24 at Park Avenue Armory. antiquestradegazette.com

08/04/2022 13:09:59

APRIL 28, 2022

Brontë mini book heads home to Haworth after £1m raised to buy it from New York dealer A rediscovered miniature book by Charlotte Brontë has been sold at a New York book fair.

By Laura Chesters

The title page of A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Brontë. Images credit: James Cummins Bookseller.

https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2022/bronte-mini-book-heads-home-tohaworth-after-1m-raised-to-buy-it-from-new-york-dealer/

The recently rediscovered miniature book by Charlotte Brontë (1816-55) has been donated to the Brontë Society’s museum, where it was originally written, after the Friends of the National Libraries raised $1.25m (£1m) to buy it at a New York book fair.

The miniature manuscript, titled A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself, was offered by James Cummins Bookseller in conjunction with London dealer Maggs Brothers on behalf of a private owner at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) earlier this month.

Cummins had alerted the Friends of the National Libraries ahead of time and within two weeks the FNL raised the funds. The bulk of the funding came from lead donor, the Garfield Weston Foundation, alongside a long list of donations including from trusts and wealthy private families.

The title page of A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Brontë. Images credit: James Cummins Bookseller.

https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2022/bronte-mini-book-heads-home-tohaworth-after-1m-raised-to-buy-it-from-new-york-dealer/

Following the FNL’s purchase, the manuscript has been donated to the Brontë Society, whose Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire is the former Brontë family home.

The FNL said its campaign to raise £15m to save The Honresfield Library of British Literature, last year encouraged Cummins to alert them to the miniature book this year. It had paid £15.3m, with the help of lead donor billionaire businessman Sir Leonard Blavatnik, for the library which contains more than 500 manuscripts, first editions and letters including works by the Brontë family, Robert Burns and Walter Scott. The library is now called Blavatnik Honresfield Library (ATG No 2524).

A Book of Ryhmes, a 15-page manuscript smaller than a playing card, is a collection of 10 poems written by Brontë at the age of 13, stitched in its original brown paper covers and dated December 1829.

The manuscript is well known in the world of Brontë scholarship: a mention appears in Mrs Gaskell’s Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857), from the transcription of Charlotte’s own handwritten catalogue of the books she wrote in 1829 and 1830. The titles of the 10 poems have been known, but the poems themselves have never been published, photographed, transcribed or even summarised.

Ann Dinsdale, principal curator of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said: “It is always emotional when an item belonging to the family is returned home and this final little book coming back to the place it was written when it had been thought lost is very special for us.”

The museum has an extensive collection of Brontë works and in 2019 it bought an 1830 autograph miniature manuscript by a 14-year-old Charlotte when it was auctioned at Aguttes in Paris.

Written in minute characters in imitation of print, the tiny hand-sewn book is one of a series of ‘magazines’ created by siblings Charlotte and Branwell Brontë from January 1829 to August 1830.

https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2022/bronte-mini-book-heads-home-tohaworth-after-1m-raised-to-buy-it-from-new-york-dealer/

APRIL 14, 2022

An Alexander McQueen Curriculum Vitae to Be Sold

By ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

READING BETWEEN THE LINES: The genius and mystique of Lee Alexander McQueen never seems to wane, and soon devotees will have another piece of memorabilia to cull what they will from it.

Believed to have been created in 1992 or 1993, an original curriculum vitae that McQueen drafted at the age of 24 will be sold at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The fair will be held from April 21 to 24 at the Park Avenue Armory on the Upper East Side.

The handtyped CV may come across as a little antiquated, given the digital age, and the reality that the designer ever needed one could make others pause. His CV is from the Alexander McQueen collection of Alice Smith, who was his friend, muse and first publicist.

The designer died by suicide at the age of 40 in 2010.

McQueen spelled out some of his career highlights under such headers as “Personal Details,” “Education” and “Employment.” Those, who only know McQueen as the master maverick that he was in fashion with his namesake label, could be surprised to learn about his studious approach.

The CV has an asking price of $1,000 and is being sold at the fair by the Brooklyn-based book seller Schubertiade Music. The company is opening a retail space in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, this summer. https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/alexander-mcqueen-curriculum-vitae-sold-212207528.html

From September 1984 until November 1990, he apprenticed with five different companies. After earning a master of fine arts in fashion design from Central Saint Martins School of Art, he started what would be four years on Savile Row and a post in Milan. His first stop was in the fall of 1984 at Anderson and Sheppard, before moving on to Gieves and Hawkes in July 1987. The creative later joined Bermans & Nathans in October 1988 and set out for Koji Tatsuno Ltd. 13 months later.

There, he started out in a tailoring job that turned out to be a pattern cutter’s post. Responsible for Tatsuno’s made-to-measure clients, McQueen noted, “Unfortunately, due to arm. Yohji Yamamoto withdrawing all financial help, all ten members off [sic] staff were made redundant.”

Not as fastidious about typos as he was about his designs, McQueen wrote of learning the fundamentals of bespoke tailoring at Anderson and Sheppard Ltd. where the company had “a world wide reputation for the softest jackets in the world and includes HRH Prince of Wales and Calvin Kline [sic] as there [sic] customers for whom I have had the pleasure of making for.”

By February 1990, McQueen was freelancing for the Milan-based at Romeo Gigli in another post.

Highlighting how that post was solely for the purpose of creating “New Shapes” for Gigli’s main collections for men and women, McQueen noted in his résumé how the womenswear was cut by using a 16th-century method that had be devised in France. He explained that he learned the technique from an “old antiquarian book” that had been given to him by his employer at Bermans and Nathans.

McQueen’s CV detailed how he was employed by Romeo Gigli on a freelance basis “and thought it unwise to return to Italy, during his brake [sic] with Carla Sozzani in October 1990. However, I did continue to work for him from London.”

McQueen went on to the pinnacle of fashion, serving as the chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 before starting his own company. He racked up the British Designer of the Year award four times and the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Designer of the Year award in 2003.

In the CV, McQueen noted how his personal interests included collecting new and antiquarian photography books and that he also liked cult and avant-garde cinema from the 1960s and the late 1970s. Interestingly, it lists the year of his birth as 1968, despite having been born on March 17, 1969.

https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/alexander-mcqueen-curriculum-vitae-sold-212207528.html

APRIL 18, 2022

The latest review on A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books: The latest review on A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books:

By John Hill

Alison & Peter Smithson: Hexenhaus: A House for a Man and a Cat edited by A&P Smithson Hexenhaus-Archiv, published by Walther König.

Architecture Book News: •

For those in NYC, a couple of book-related events are coming up this week and next: the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, taking place at Park Avenue Armory from April 21 to April 24. The 2020 event was one of my last before lockdown; I wrote about some architecture-book finds and will most likely do something similar when I attend the preview on the 21st.

https://archidose.substack.com/p/architecture-books-week-162022?s=r

APRIL 22, 2022

AT THE 2022 BOOK FAIR April 22, 2022 AT THE 2022 BOOK FAIR Yesterday the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair opened to the public, the first of its four days at the Park Avenue Armory on Manhattan's Upper East Side. I was able tp attend the preview yesterday, taking the opportunity to search out items relevant to architecture. So, like I did with the first fair I attended two years ago (it was the last event I attended before lockdown and was the most recent edition of the fair, it being cancelled last year), below are some of those finds — 15 items from 12 booksellers — with photos and captions, and listed in the order I discovered them. People interested in attending the 62nd Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair can buy tickets online.

https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

Located near the entrance, the booth for New York’s Ursus Rare Books has a reduced version (still nearly 6’ long) of the Historical Table for ‘The Functional City’ exhibition (De Functionele Stad) at the Stedelijk Museum in 1935. It’s attributed to Rudolf Steiger, George Schmidt, and Wilhelm Hess but features contributions by Otto Neurath. $17,500

My favorite staging of a book — books, actually — is at the booth of Type Punch Matrix, where Ed Ruscha's famous Every Building on the Sunset Strip (bottom left) from 1966 is presented alongside two earlier fold-out street depictions: Ginza Kaiwai / Ginza Haccho (1954) by Suzuki Yoshikazu and Kimura Shohachi (bottom right); and Boulevards de Paris (1846) by Jean Jacques Champin and Edouard Rneard (top). $5,500 / $5,000 / $7,500 https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

Brooklyn's Daniel / Oliver Gallery has one of the more unique and extensive offerings at the book fair: a Substantial Archive from Breuer and Associates from the 1950s through the 1970s, or from Saint John's Abbey in Minnesota to the Atlanta Central Library. The archive consists of 348 photographic prints plus architect's reports, correspondences, and other documents, all adding up to 2.4 linear feet. Take look at a PDF of the gallery's specially made catalog on the archive. $25,000

https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

Jeff Hirsch Books from Wadsworth, Illinois, has more architecture books on display than most booksellers at the fair. One of the standouts consists of multiple books on/by the great but overlooked architect Antonin Raymond: His Work in Japan, 1920–1935 (1935) and the spiralbound Architectural Details (1938). $3,000 / $850

https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

Also at Jeff Hirsch Books is a copy of Tribune Tower Competition from 1923. This is the first time I've seen this hefty first edition with its original dust jacket. $1,250

https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

Across the aisle from Jeff Hirsch Books is Connecticut’s Derringer Books, which has a signed first edition of Rem Koolhaas’s Delirious New York, a book that needs no introduction on this blog. $2,500

https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

Bauhaus titles are in abundance around the fair, but no single booth appeared to have as much of the school's titles related to architecture than Berlin's Rotes Antiquariat. In this photo is Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar, 1919–1923 (1923) edited by Bauhaus and Karl Nierendorf, and signed by the book's designer, Herbert Bayer. $6,000 (Behind it is a 1921 issue of H. Th. Wijdeveld's Wendingen devoted to Frank Lloyd Wright, featuring a cover by El Lissitzky. $4,000)

Rotes Antiquariat also has a "very rare original issue of Thonet's famous and highly influential tubular steel furniture catalog of 1930," which presents designs primarily by Marcel Breuer on a few dozen advertising cards. $12,000

https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

New York's Martayan Lan has a large Deluxe Prospectus for the Architecture of Rome's EUR District, or Esposizione Universale di Roma, from 1939. According to the bookseller, "this work is not to be confused with a much more common quarto-format souvenir book which was published under almost exactly the same title." $3,850

Philip Jodidio's monograph on Tadao Ando that was published by Taschen in 1997 is so easy to come by and cheap to buy it normally wouldn't be at an antiquarian book fair. But the one on display in the booth of England's Voewood Rare Books is special, since it is signed by Ando and has three original sketches in red pencil. $850 https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

Michael Laird Rare Books from Lockhart, Texas, has a couple old gems displayed dramatically under lights. First is The Architecture of Palladio published in London in 1721. $18,000

Second is Francesco Colonna's Hypnerotomachie, ou Discours du Songe de Poliphile published in Paris in 1561. $28,000

https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

Walking some of the aisles it seemed at times there were more maps on display than books, most of which I breezed by. Nolli's Plan of Rome (1748) at the booth of Daniel Crouch Rare Books made me stop dead in my tracks — as did the price. This item, consisting of 12 sheets mounted in frames, is so special the bookseller made a short film explaining its history and important features. $53,000

Another map of interest is something unheard of to me: a Ribbon map of New York City (1867) "identifying over 175 businesses and landmarks along Broadway south of 14th street," according to New York's James Cummins Bookseller. $10,000 (This booth was the most crowded of any I looked at, but it wasn't this map they came to see; they were peering at the miniature book made by a 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë, written up by the New York Times and going for $1.25 million!) https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/04/at-2022-book-fair.html

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns MARCH 2, 2022

By Jeremy Howell

Valentina Kulagina, detail of Female Shock-workers Strengthen the Shock Brigades, Master Technology, and Increase the Ranks of the Proletarian Specialists, 1931. Lithograph.

https://www.booksourcemagazine.com/index.php?sid=calendar&type=fair

NEW YORK CITY — The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF)—officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates—is making its much-anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21- 24, 2022, for its 62nd Edition.

The NYIABF is a cultural mainstay in the city and is proud to return as a highlight of the Spring cultural calendar in New York City and the New York region at large. Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant.

https://www.booksourcemagazine.com/index.php?sid=calendar&type=fair

PRODUCTIVE ARTS Valentina Kulagina, detail of Female Shock-workers Strengthen the Shock Brigades, Master Technology, and Increase the Ranks of the Proletarian Specialists, 1931. Lithograph.

Universally referred to as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF is thrilled to showcase nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair. This year, as world travel restrictions are lifted, the fair organizers are working closely with their international dealers to ensure a seamless return to the States and will welcome exhibitors from 14 different countries. An impressive number of US exhibitors also highlight the incredible wealth of material available stateside. Exhibitors will present a vast treasure trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera.

https://www.booksourcemagazine.com/index.php?sid=calendar&type=fair

Several of the 2022 exhibitors have participated in the NYIABF since its inception, attesting to the fair’s longevity and relevance to its dealers and audiences. However, the fair continues to attract new antiquarian booksellers and attendees as it evolves, welcoming 19 new exhibitors this year including Auger Down Books, Autographes des Siècles, Brenner's Books - Rare & Collectable, Bull's Head Rare Books LLC, Cleveland Book Company, Daniel / Oliver Gallery, Evening Star Books, First Edition Rare Books, LLC, Johnson Rare Books, Le Bookiniste, Le Zograscope, Liberty Book Store, lizzyoung bookseller, Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books Ltd, studio montespecchio di jan van der donk, Temple Rare Books, Voewood Rare Books and William Chrisant & Sons.

The fair’s specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual—to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics—the fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.

In recent years, NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking oneof-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Prices range from $50 to millions.

https://www.booksourcemagazine.com/index.php?sid=calendar&type=fair

FEBRUARY 28, 2022

The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to New York from April 21-24

By Jose Villareal

Bauhaus - One of only two existing, slightly differing copies. - Moholy-Nagy, László: Der "Kreis der Freunde des Bauhauses" für Herrn Bürgermeister Fritz Hesse in Dessau. [The "Circle of Friends of the Bauhaus" for Mr Mayor Fritz Hesse in Dessau. Lithograph and letterpress print.] (Bauhausdruckerei [Bauhaus printing shop], Dessau. Juli [July] 1925.) One of only two existing copies; trial proof which has never been mentioned nor reproduced anywhere before. - With original signatures by nine of the Bauhaus masters, namely Josef Albers, Herbert Bayer, Marcel Breuer, Walter Gropius, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, László Moholy-Nagy, Georg Muche, Hinnerk Scheper. - Probably the first print of the for the time being provisionally installed at the Bauhaus printing shop in Dessau. - The other existing copy was handed over to Fritz Hesse, mayor of Dessau, who later gave it to the bauhaus-archiv Berlin.

https://artdaily.com/news/144168/The-ABAA-New-York-International-Antiquarian-Book-FairReturns-to-New-York-from-April-21-24#.YhzfHBPMK3I

NEW YORK, NY- The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair—officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates—is making its muchanticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24, 2022, for its 62nd Edition.

The NYIABF is a cultural mainstay in the city and is proud to return as a highlight of the Spring cultural calendar in New York City and the New York region at large. Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant.

Universally referred to as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF is thrilled to showcase nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair. This year, as world travel restrictions are lifted, the fair organizers are working closely with their international dealers to ensure a seamless return to the States and will welcome exhibitors from 14 different countries. An impressive number of US exhibitors also highlight the incredible wealth of material available stateside. Exhibitors will present a vast treasure trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera.

Several of the 2022 exhibitors have participated in the NYIABF since its inception, attesting to the fair’s longevity and relevance to its dealers and audiences. However, the fair continues to attract new antiquarian booksellers and attendees as it evolves, welcoming 19 new exhibitors this year including Auger Down Books, Autographes des Siècles, Brenner's Books - Rare & Collectable, Bull's Head Rare Books LLC, Cleveland Book Company, Daniel / Oliver Gallery, Evening Star Books, First Edition Rare Books, LLC, Johnson Rare Books, Le Bookiniste, Le Zograscope, Liberty Book Store, lizzyoung bookseller, Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books Ltd, studio montespecchio di jan van der donk, Temple Rare Books, Voewood Rare Books and William Chrisant & Sons.

The fair’s specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual—to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics—the fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.

In recent years, NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking oneof-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Prices range from $50 to millions.

https://artdaily.com/news/144168/The-ABAA-New-York-International-Antiquarian-Book-FairReturns-to-New-York-from-April-21-24#.YhzfHBPMK3I

MARCH 30, 2022

A Tiny Brontë Book, Lost For A Century, Resurfaces

By Jennifer Schuessler

Image Courtesy of Clark Hodgin for The New York Times

NEW YORK, NY.- The miniature books created by Charlotte Brontë and her siblings as children have long been objects of fascination for fans and deep-pocketed collectors. Initially created to entertain their toy soldiers, the tiny volumes reflected the rich imaginary world they created in the isolation of the family home on the moors of northern England, which fed into novels like Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre” and Emily’s “Wuthering Heights.”

Now, the last of the more than two dozen created by Charlotte to remain in private hands has surfaced and will be coming up for sale next month. “A Book of Rhymes,” a 15-page volume smaller than a playing card, was last seen at auction in 1916 in New York, where it sold for $520 https://artdaily.com/news/145075/A-tiny-Bront-euml--book--lost-for-a-century-resurfaces#.Yksz4y9h06U

before disappearing, its whereabouts — and even its survival — unknown. It will be unveiled April 21, the opening night of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair and, as it happens, Brontë’s birthday.

The asking price?

A cool $1.25 million.

The titles of the 10 poems (including “The Beauty of Nature” and “On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel”) have long been known, thanks to the 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, which transcribed Brontë’s own handwritten catalog of her juvenilia. But the poems themselves have never been published, photographed, transcribed or even summarized.

And they’ll stay that way at least a little bit longer. One recent morning, Henry Wessells, a bookseller at Manhattan firm James Cummins Bookseller (which is selling the book in partnership with London-based firm Maggs Bros.) was eager to show off the tiny volume — on the condition its contents not be quoted or described. “The eventual purchaser will be able to steward them into publication, which will be a red-letter day for Brontë scholarship,” he said.

Wessells, a 25-year veteran of the book trade, has handled many remarkable things over the years, including the archives of the New York Review of Books and a flag flown by T.E. Lawrence and the victorious Arab rebels at the Battle of Aqaba in 1917. But the unassuming hand-stitched bundle of Brontë paper is “a once-in-a-career item.”

“It’s thrilling to be part of the history of English literature, one link in the chain,” he said. “And there’s also just the joy of actually having it on my desk. The more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes.” There have been plenty of dramatic red-letter days in Brontë scholarship of late. Last year, a large “lost” library of Brontë manuscripts and other literary artifacts that had been virtually unseen for a century surfaced suddenly and was put up for auction. After an outcry, the auction was postponed, and the collection was acquired intact for $20 million by an unusual consortium of libraries and museums, to be preserved for the British public.

And in 2019, the Brontë Parsonage Museum raised nearly $800,000 to buy a miniature magazine made by Charlotte that came up for auction after the French commercial venture that owned it went bankrupt. The miniature microvolumes had remained in the Brontë family until the 1890s, when they were dispersed, along with many other manuscripts and artifacts, after the death of the second wife of Charlotte’s widower. Today, all the other tiny books made by Charlotte are in institutional collections, including the Morgan Library & Museum in New York.

“The Book of Rhymes” (or “ryhmes,” as Charlotte spelled it on the title page), Wessells said, had survived tucked in a letter-size envelope stashed inside a 19th-century schoolbook in what he described as “an American private collection.” (He declined to say more about the owner, citing a confidentiality agreement.)

In his office, he opened the envelope, which was labeled “Brontë manuscript,” and in the upper left corner, “most valuable.” Then he pulled out the book, which was folded inside a copy of an old auction listing. The book was made of cheap, drab brown paper, unevenly trimmed and sewn together with thread, “textured like a tiny rope,” as Wessels put it. He turned to the back to show the table of contents, with Charlotte’s explanation that the poems are credited to two imaginary authors in the fictional world, “Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley,” but actually “written by me.”

He then flipped to the title page, flipping it over to read a disclaimer on the reverse: “The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless https://artdaily.com/news/145075/A-tiny-Bront-euml--book--lost-for-a-century-resurfaces#.Yksz4y9h06U

my best.” And finally, he slowly turned the pages, to allow a tantalizing glimpse of the poems, reiterating that the contents were off the record. No worries there. The microscopic handwriting, intended to mimic the printed fonts of a “real” book, was impossible to read at a quick glance without a magnifying glass.

The poems — some long, some short, sometimes with crossed-out words and corrections — were each dated and signed or initialed “C.B.” Wessells described them as “of different styles and meters” (including a sonnet, listed on the table of contents as “A Thing of fourteen lines”) but declined to offer any “literary evaluation.”

Claire Harman, a Brontë scholar who also viewed the manuscript in Wessells’ office, said she could decipher a few snippets of the poems, which she called “the last unread poems by Charlotte Brontë.” And depending on the desires of the buyer, she noted, “they may stay that way.” (Wessells said future plans for the manuscript may be “one factor” in identifying “an appropriate buyer.”)

The poems seemed “very charming” she said, despite Brontë’s disclaimer. As for the handwriting, she said, “it’s like a mouse has been writing this,” comparing the experience of reading the Brontë miniature books to Alice’s growing and shrinking in “Alice in Wonderland.”

“They’re like portals into a different world,” she said. “You go in, and you come out the other side.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

https://artdaily.com/news/145075/A-tiny-Bront-euml--book--lost-for-a-century-resurfaces#.Yksz4y9h06U

APRIL 19, 2022

Editors’ Picks: 14 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week, From Joan Jonas in Times Square to Art Inspired by Courtroom Dramas

By Sarah Cascone

Attendees at the 2013 New York Antiquarian Book Fair. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

Each week, we search for the most exciting and thought-provoking shows, screenings, and events, both digitally and in-person in the New York area. See our picks from around the world below. (Times are all ET unless otherwise noted.)

4. “New York International Antiquarian Book Fair” at the Park Avenue Armory, New York Rare books are just the beginning of what’s for sale at the Antiquarian Book Fair, which is back after canceling its September outing. It will also offer a range of illuminated manuscripts, historical documents, maps, illustrations, and other printed matter from nearly 200 dealers.

Location: Park Avenue Armory at 643 Park Avenue in New York Price: $30 general admission, $60 preview pass, $45 run-of-show Time: 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/art-world/editors-picks-april-19-2022-2096676

APRIL 26, 2022

Art Industry News: That Highly Controversial Philip Guston Exhibition Will Now Finally See the Light of Day + Other Stories Plus, Shanghai art workers speak out about life under lockdown, and North Face and street artist Futura reach a settlement.

Philip Guston, The Ladder (1978). Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, gift of Edward R. Broida, ©the estate of Philip Guston.

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Here’s what you need to know this Tuesday, April 26.

MOVERS & SHAKERS A Tiny Brontë Book Returns to the U.K. – Smaller than a playing card, a handwritten book that esteemed author Charlotte Brontë made at the age of 13 was the star attraction at the recent New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, where it sold for $1.25 million. The buyer, a British charity, will donate it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire. (New York Times) https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-industry-news-april-26-stories-2104896

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

Art Industry News: 50 Relatives of the Fabled Outsider Artist Henry Darger Are Suing for Control of His Art + Other Stories Plus, the Feds are cracking down on a George Condo forgery ring, and Sotheby's gets sued over the sale of the first NFT.

By Artnet News

Henry Darger, Untitled (after 1953). © 2021 Kiyoko Lerner. Courtesy of AFAM.

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Here’s what you need to know this Monday, February 7. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-industry-news-other-stories-10-2069278

MOVERS & SHAKERS Winter Show Moves to April – The Winter Show art fair has been postponed for a second time and will now run from April 1 through April 10 at a new location: 660 Madison Avenue (rather than the Park Avenue Armory). Meanwhile, the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair—which was postponed due to concerns over Delta—has found new dates at the Armory from April 21 through 24. (New York Times)

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-industry-news-other-stories-10-2069278

APRIL 26, 2022

Record $25 M. Gift for Florida Museum, Turkish Arts Patron Gets Life in Prison, and More: Morning Links for April 26, 2022

By The Editors of ArtNews

The Tampa Museum of Art in Florida in 2019.ALEX MENENDEZ VIA AP

A MILLON HERE, A MILLION THERE. A 374-liter cask of rare Macallan whisky from 1988 sold for about £1.02 million ($1.30 million) in an online auction on the Whisky Hammer site, the Press Association reports. (That is about $3,460 a liter, for the record.) Meanwhile, a book of poems written by Charlotte Brontë at age 13 sold at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, where it was priced at $1.25 million , the New York Times reports. The buyer was the British charity Friends of the National Libraries, which will donate it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in England.

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/tampa-museum-gift-osman-kavala-prisonmorning-links-1234626593/

APRIL 1, 2022

A Miniature Manuscript By Charlotte Brontë To Be Offered For $1.25 Million

By Fang Block

Courtesy of James Cumming Bookseller, Inc.

A miniature, unpublished manuscript written by English novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë at age 13 will be offered for sale for US$1.25 million later this month at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair.

Titled A Book of Ryhmes by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself, the manuscript contains 10 poems written by Brontë (1816-1855), including such titles as The Beauty of Nature, Song of an Exile, and A Bit of a Ryhme. “The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best,” Brontë wrote on the verso of the title page. One of the three Brontës who survived into adulthood, Charlotte is best known for Jane Eyre, published in 1847. https://www.barrons.com/articles/a-miniature-manuscript-by-charlotte-bronte-to-beoffered-for-1-25-million-01648847445

The 15-page manuscript, smaller than a playing card, is stitched in its original brown paper covers, according to James Cummins Bookseller of New York, which will be handling the exhibition and sale of the manuscript in collaboration with Maggs Bros. Ltd., a London-based bookseller. The manuscript has not been seen publicly since it was sold in New York in 1916; it was recently rediscovered in a private collection, according to Henry Wessells of James Cummins Bookseller.

“Now the owner wishes to ensure that it is preserved for future generations, and, ultimately, made available to scholarship,” he said in an email.

Brontë’s manuscripts have generated considerable interest in recent years. Another miniature manuscript, an issue of The Young Men’s Magazine, written by Brontë in 1830, sold for €780,000 (US$777,000) in November 2019, to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in the U.K. Last December, a consortium of British institutions acquired the Honresfield Library collection of books and literary manuscripts, including seven miniature books by Brontë, for a purchase price of £15 million, which had originally been slated for auction by Sotheby’s starting in July.

The auction house agreed to delay the sales so the Honresfield Library collection, a cultural treasure, could remain in the U.K. as a whole, instead of ending up in private hands.

The miniature manuscript has “no connection with the Honresfield Library and is the last miniature book manuscript to come back into the marketplace,” Wessells said.

Book of Ryhmes will be exhibited at the booth of James Cummins Bookseller in the New York Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/a-miniature-manuscript-by-charlotte-bronte-to-beoffered-for-1-25-million-01648847445

APRIL 14, 2022

California Winemaker Sean Thackrey Is Selling His Entire Collection of Books on Wine and Winemaking Comprising about 740 titles, it’s estimated to realize $2 million

By Fang Block

A collection of books and manuscripts about wine and winemaking by Sean Thackrey - Courtesy of Ben Kinmont Bookseller

A collection of books and manuscripts about wine and winemaking that was assembled over decades by Sean Thackrey, a California winemaker with an art history background, will be sold at a book fair later this month in New York for about US$2 million. https://www.barrons.com/articles/california-winemaker-sean-thackrey-is-selling-his-entirecollection-of-books-on-wine-and-winemaking-01649973910

Comprising about 740 titles, the collection includes books and manuscripts dating to the 6th century and almost all of the important works on the topic from the 15th century to the late 19th century. A selection of 50 of the most important books and manuscripts from the collection will be exhibited by California-based Ben Kinmont Bookseller during the 62nd edition of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair taking place at the Park Avenue Armory from April 2124 in New York.

A manuscript on wine and its effects on the body from 15th-century Italy Courtesy of Ben Kinmont Bookseller “The strength of the collection resides in the early printed books before the year 1700,” says Ben Kinmont, owner of the eponymous bookseller of books on wine and gastronomy. This part of Thackrey’s collection (with 182 books) is more than twice the size of the research collection at the University of California, Davis, which has one of the greatest institutional collections on wine and winemaking, he says. Also, what is unusual about the Thackrey collection is that “Sean can read seven languages, so he can collect texts from different periods of time and different cultures,” he says. “Sean also used the manuscripts in his winemaking practice, focusing on buying books and manuscripts on how to make wine.”

https://www.barrons.com/articles/california-winemaker-sean-thackrey-is-selling-his-entirecollection-of-books-on-wine-and-winemaking-01649973910

The first edition of De Naturali Vinorvm Historia de Vinis Italiae et de Conviuiis Antiquorum Libri Septem. Rome: Mutis, 1596.

Courtesy of Ben Kinmont Bookseller

Thackrey’s unconventional winemaking technique, which calls for letting grapes “rest” for at least 24 hours outside, has been used by various wineries around the world. The first vintage of wine he produced was in 1981, a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend he called Aquila. His flagship, Orion, was produced from 1986 to present.

Sean Thackrey Courtesy of Ben Kinmont Bookseller

https://www.barrons.com/articles/california-winemaker-sean-thackrey-is-selling-his-entirecollection-of-books-on-wine-and-winemaking-01649973910

The oldest book from the collection is a 6th-century Papyrus leaf with two lines of text and a small seal. In a comment made via the bookseller, Thackrey said, “Surely nothing could be more evanescent and its survival less likely, than this little scrap of papyrus, very touching to me, which is a receipt from a Christian monastery to a local farmer for grapevines, in Egypt before Islam.”

The collection also includes the first and only edition of L’humore dialogo by Bartolomeo Taegio, printed in 1564. “It is a detailed 162-page general monograph entirely devoted to viticulture and wine; and is in fact the first such general monograph I know of to have been written in any language,” Thackrey said.

A 1571 manuscript from Southern Germany - Courtesy of Ben Kinmont Bookseller

Other highlights include a hand-written manuscript on wine and its effects on the body from 15thcentury Italy; Kellermaisterey, an influential German work on winemaking and care of the cellar published in 1542; and a fine copy of the first edition of Agoston Haraszthy’s Grape Culture, Wines, and Wine-Making, published in New York in 1862. The collection will be sold in its entirety, Kinmont says, “It’s really important the collection stays as a whole.”

Thackrey was not immediately available for comment.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/california-winemaker-sean-thackrey-is-selling-his-entirecollection-of-books-on-wine-and-winemaking-01649973910

APRIL 21, 2022

For sale: Tiny book by Charlotte Brontë, at $1.25m

By Bernd Debusmann Jr

A 1555 guide to tennis is among the items on sale at the fair

A tiny book created by Charlotte Brontë worth $1.25m (£957,393) is among the items for sale at what is being billed the "world's finest antiquarian book fair".

Also on offer are a guide to tennis published in 1555, handwritten notes from the world's first atom bomb test and Amy Winehouse's library. The four-day fair in New York is expected to fetch fortunes for dealers. Booksellers say sales have spiked in recent years.

The 2022 New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is the 61st edition of the event, which is being held at the Park Avenue Armory in lower Manhattan.

Ahead of the event, much of the buzz has centred around a recently rediscovered miniature book written by English novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë when she was just 13 in 1829. The event will mark the first time the book is unveiled publicly since a 1916 auction. Owning a piece of history, however, isn't cheap. The book's seller is asking for $1.25m (£957,393), believed to be the highest ever for a female author. The previous record was set just last year when a first edition of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' sold for $1.17m in September. Brontë's book is far from the only eye-catching item. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61178869.amp

A collection of wine books dating as far back as the 1500s put together by wine maker Sean Thackrey, for example, is going on sale for $2m, while a set of 800 books and manuscripts detailing hundreds of years of environmental and climate studies listed for $2.5m. A book believed to be the world's first guide to tennis written by an Italian priest in 1555 ($45,000) and a rare early edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' priced at approximately $360,000 will also be on offer.

The more contemporary collections on sale include a set of diagrams and notes from a medical group participating in the world's first atomic bomb tests in 1945 - including the first mention of a "mushroom cloud" - and a collection of over 200 books once owned by the late British singer Amy Winehouse.

The fair is being held between 21 April and 24 April. Even as retail sales struggled throughout the first two years of the pandemic, book sales have spiked, with the Association of American publishers reporting that 172 new independent bookstores opened in the US 2021 alone.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61178869.amp

APRIL 26, 2022

Charlotte Brontë's early Book of Rhymes sold for £1m

The tiny book will soon be housed in the Brontë Society's Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where it was written JAMES CUMMINS BOOKSELLER

A miniature book written by novelist Charlotte Brontë when she was 13 has been bought for $1.25m (£983,500).

The tiny manuscript - measuring just 3.8in x 2.5in (9.7cm x 6.4cm) - was created by the young writer in 1829. It will be donated to the Brontë Society's Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where it was written, after being bought by a charity. The work, entitled A Book of Rhymes and containing 10 poems, was one of six "little books" written by Charlotte. Charlotte, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters, went on to write her classic novel Jane Eyre 18 years later. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61221829

Smaller than a playing card, the 15-page manuscript is stitched in its original brown paper covers and features poems including Theres Beauty in Nature and On Seeing The Ruins of The Tower of Babylon.

Charlotte Brontë, the likeness of whom was captured by the artist George Richmond, died in 1855 aged 38 GETTY IMAGES

The price paid by Friends of the National Libraries (FNL), a UK charity devoted to saving the nation's written and printed heritage, is believed to be the highest ever for a female author.

The previous record was set in September when a first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein sold for $1.17m.

Ann Dinsdale, principal curator of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to be the recipients of this extraordinary and unexpected donation and wish to thank the generosity of the FNL and all of the donors who have made it possible.

"It is always emotional when an item belonging to the Brontë family is returned home and this final little book, coming back to the place it was written when it had been thought lost, is very special for us."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61221829

The 15-page Book of Ryhmes contains 10 poems including Theres beauty in nature and On seeing the ruins of the tower of Babylon JAMES CUMMINS BOOKSELLER

A Book of Rhymes sold at the 2022 New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, it was last seen at auction in 1916, where it fetched $520 (£408).

Geordie Greig, FNL chairman, called it a "giant gain for Britain".

"Friends of the National Libraries had the daunting task of raising $1.25m in just two weeks," he said.

"It is due to wonderfully generous donors that FNL did raise this sum to buy this rarest of manuscripts and return it to its rightful home."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61221829

APRIL 13, 2022

A Rare First Edition of ‘The Great Gatsby’ Lists at $360,000 The book is an ultra-rare example of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous Novel – and is priced accordingly.

By James Tarmy

A first edition of The Great Gatsby carries a price tag of almost $360,000. Source: Peter Harrington

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-13/a-rare-first-edition-of-the-greatgatsby-lists-at-360-000

High schoolers, beware: Before you annotate your next copy of The Great Gatsby, check the publication date. It might be worth a fortune.

“The Great Gatsby is considered, in collecting terms, the No. 1 American novel to collect,” says the London-based rare book dealer Peter Harrington. “A lot of that has to do with the dust jacket— people just seem to desperately want it.”

Harrington will soon bring a first edition of the 1925 book, widely considered F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, to New York’s International Antiquarian Book Fair, which runs from April 21-24 at the Park Avenue Armory.

Harrington’s book is priced at £275,000 (about $360,000), placing it at the upper tier of a booming collectible market. “For 20th century literature, this is definitely up there,” he says. “The truth is, the lockdown and that whole period had been very kind to the rare book market.”

Determining Value Like most books, editions of The Great Gatsby are priced based on a fairly rigid set of criteria: when the book was printed, the condition of its dust jacket, and if any parts of the book or jacket have been damaged and/or restored.

The first edition was printed in 1925.Source: Peter Harrington

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-13/a-rare-first-edition-of-the-greatgatsby-lists-at-360-000

The first edition numbered 20,870 copies. The easiest way to determine if a book is from this print run—aside from just looking inside the cover—is by checking for errors that were eventually corrected.

One telltale sign from the first printing is a mistake on the jacket itself. The protagonist’s name, Jay Gatsby, is spelled with a lower-case j, “and rather than reprint the whole thing, they literally had someone go over it with a rubber J stamp,” says Harrington. “So you see a large J on the back that looks a little weird. And when you collect these things, that part of the story is part of what makes it fun.”

That very first issue also has least five typos inside. Rare book dealer Heather O’Donnell, in a primer on the Gatsby first edition market in Lapham’s Quarterly, writes that on page 205, “Meyer Wolfsheim’s secretary tells Nick Carraway she’s ‘sick in tired’ of young men trying to force their way into the office.”

Condition Issues The jacket is an image by the painter Francis Cugat, which Fitzgerald had apparently seen before he finished the book. “For Christ’s sake don’t give anyone that jacket you’re saving for me,” Fitzgerald wrote to his publisher in advance of publication. “I’ve written it into the book.”

The first edition was printed in 1925. Source: Peter Harrington

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-13/a-rare-first-edition-of-the-greatgatsby-lists-at-360-000

The only problem is that in the first printing, the book jacket was slightly too large, making it prone to tear. “The jacket was produced one place, the book was produced someplace else,” Harrington explains. “So it usually got chipped.”

About 20 years ago, Harrington continues, there was a vogue for restoring these damaged editions.

“If there’s a chunk missing from the spine, a conservator fills it in so it looks like a nice copy,” he says. But original, untouched, mint-condition versions like the one he’s bringing to New York only turn up, he says, “every five years or so.”

Market Precedent The book in question “just sat on someone’s shelf, in a box and unlooked at for God knows how long,” says Harrington.

While in one respect that’s a pity, he continues, on the other hand “the minute it gets handled is when it gets trashed.” So its neglect had a definite silver lining. After its most recent owner died, his heirs, who knew the caliber of the book they’d inherited, contacted a Midwest dealer, who in turn contacted Harrington, who then bought the book outright and is now preparing to sell it himself.

The $360,000 price tag, while steep, does have some precedent. In 2014, an unrestored first edition with a few small chips in the jacket came to auction at Sotheby’s with an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000, and sold for $377,000.

More recently, a signed first edition with some condition issues sold at Heritage Auctions in New York for $162,500. In 2009, a first edition at Bonham’s New York sold for $180,000.

Harrington says that there are Gatsby collectors around the world, but he’s bringing it to New York, he hopes, to sell it to an American. “There are definitely some candidates to buy it in the marketplace,” he says. “They just need to see it.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-13/a-rare-first-edition-of-the-greatgatsby-lists-at-360-000

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

By Staff Writer Book Fair Calendar Rare Books, Ephemera, Antiques & Fine Art Show. (Virtual-Online). February 25–27, 2022. (more information) Ephemera 42. Old Greenwich, CT. March 17–20, 2022.

Albuquerque Antiquarian Book Fair. Albuquerque, NM. March 18–19, 2022.

Sacramento Antiquarian Book Fair. Sacramento, CA. March 26, 2022.

Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. St. Petersburg, FL. April 1–3, 2022. (more information) Paper Town (Vintage Paper, Book & Advertising Show). Boxboro, MA. April 16, 2022.

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. New York, NY. April 21–24, 2022.

Manhattan Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair. New York, NY. April 23, 2022.

Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair. New York, NY. April 23, 2022.

Denver Postcard & Paper Show. Denver, CO. May 27–28, 2022.

Northern New England Book Fair. Concord, NH. June 3–4, 2022.

Cooperstown Antiquarian Book Fair. Cooperstown, NY. June 25, 2022. (more information) Denver Postcard & Paper Show. Denver, CO. July 8–9, 2022.

Twin Cities Antiquarian Book Fair. St. Paul, MN. July 8–9, 2022.

Vermont Summer Book, Postcard & Ephemera Fair. Bennington, VT. August 7, 2022.

Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Book Fair. Castle Rock, CO. September 9–10, 2022.

Paper Town (Vintage Paper, Book & Advertising Show). Boxboro, MA. September 10, 2022.

Northampton Ephemera, Books & Photography Show. Northampton, MA. October 23, 2022.

Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair. London, England. November 4–5, 2022.

https://www.booksourcemagazine.com/index.php?sid=calendar&type=fair

The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns to New York for 62nd Edition, April 21-24 The NYIABF is a cultural mainstay in the city and is proud to return as a highlight of the Spring cultural calendar in New York City and the New York region at large.

MARCH 30, 2022

By A.A. Cristi The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates-is making its much-anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24, 2022, for its 62nd Edition.

The NYIABF is a cultural mainstay in the city and is proud to return as a highlight of the Spring cultural calendar in New York City and the New York region at large. Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant.

Universally referred to as the world's finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF is thrilled to showcase nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly interna tional fair. This year, as world travel restrictions are lifted, the fair organizers are working closely with their international dealers to ensure a seamless return to the States and will welcome exhibitors from 14 different countries. An impressive number of US exhibitors also highlight the incredible wealth of material available stateside. Exhibitors will present a vast treasure trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/The-ABAA-New-York-International-Antiquarian-Book-FairReturns-to-New-York-for-62nd-Edition-April-21-24-20220330

Several of the 2022 exhibitors have participated in the NYIABF since its inception, attesting to the fair's longevity and relevance to its dealers and audiences. However, the fair continues to attract new antiquarian booksellers and attendees as it evolves, welcoming 19 new exhibitors this year including Auger Down Books, Autographes des Siècles, Brenner's Books - Rare & Collectable, Bull's Head Rare Books LLC, Cleveland Book Company, Daniel / Oliver Gallery, Evening Star Books, First Edition Rare Books, LLC, Johnson Rare Books, Le Bookiniste, Le Zograscope, Liberty Book Store, lizzyoung bookseller, Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books Ltd, studio montespec chio di jan van der donk, Temple Rare Books, Voewood Rare Books and William Chrisant & Sons.

The fair's specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first edi tions, Americana, philosophy, children's books and much more. From the historic and academic, the reli gious and spiritual-to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics-the fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.

In recent years, NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking oneof-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Prices range from $50 to millions.

In its 62nd Edition, NYIABF continues to endorse the finest tradition of material culled from American and international antiquarian booksellers. In addition to 99 U.S. booksellers, NYIABF enjoys strong interna tional participation with booksellers hailing from the United Kingdom (32), France (18), Italy (8), Germany (6), The Netherlands (4), Austria (3), Denmark (2), Spain (1), Argentina (2), Canada (1), Czech Republic (1), Georgia (1), Hungary (1) & Japan (1) A full list of exhibitors may be found here: https://www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com/dealers Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065 www.armoryonpark.org Special Event - Discovery Day Sunday, April 24 | 1pm-3pm Preview: $60 (Includes one daily re-admission) Daily Admission: $30 Students: $10 (with valid ID - at the door only) Run of Show: $45 (at door only) 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.

ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/The-ABAA-New-York-International-Antiquarian-Book-FairReturns-to-New-York-for-62nd-Edition-April-21-24-20220330

MARCH 22, 2022

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) - officially sanctioned by the ABAA and ILAB and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates - is making its much-anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21- 24, 2022, for its 62nd Edition.

The NYIABF is a cultural mainstay in the city and is proud to return as a highlight of the Spring cultural calendar in New York City and the New York region at large. Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant.

Universally referred to as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF is thrilled to showcase nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair. Exhibitors will present a vast treasure trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, rare prints and print ephemera.

Venue: Park Avenue Armory New York 643 Park Ave Map 212-777-5218

https://www.cityguideny.com/event/Park-Avenue-Armory-New-York-2022-04-21-2022-04-21-0318-ss

APRIL 1, 2022

A Miniature Manuscript Written By Charlotte Brontë To Go On Sale For $1.25 Million

By Aya Elamroussi

Image courtesy of Reuters

A miniature unpublished manuscript written by Charlotte Brontë when she was 13 years old will go on sale for $1.25 million at a New York City book fair later this month. The work titled "A Book of Ryhmes by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself" is smaller than a playing card -- yet it holds a literary treasure of 10 poems by the "Jane Eyre" author. The manuscript, dated December 1829, has not been seen publicly since it was sold in New York in 1916, according to Henry Wessells, an associate at James Cummins Bookseller. It was recently found in a private collection, he said. https://www.cnn.com/style/article/charlotte-bronte-rare-manuscript/index.html

Stitched together in its original brown paper covers, the 15 pages tell tales involving the "sophisticated imaginary world" of Brontë and her siblings, according to a press release from the dealers. "They wrote adventure stories, dramas, and verse in hand-made manuscript books filled with tiny handwriting intended to resemble print," the release says. Cummins along with Maggs Bros are the two dealers selling the work at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair on April 21 at the Park Avenue Armory. "The manuscript was last in the public eye in 1916, and we all love the story of an unexpected survival," Wessells told CNN in an email. "Now the owner wishes to ensure that it is preserved for future generations, and, ultimately, made available to scholarship."

Image courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller

Wessells described the manuscript as "a beautiful little thing" that was carefully put together from household scraps of paper and sewn with the original thread. "The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best," Bronte writes on the manuscript's title page. And at the end of the book, she asserts creative control over the imaginary world created by herself and siblings.

"Just think of the Brontë children telling and writing stories among themselves, learning at home in a remote village, and then blossoming, briefly, to write the books that have been read by millions ever since, and also leaving behind hand-made things such as this manuscript," said Wessells, who marveled at how the book survived over the past century. Brontë and her sisters Emily and Anne wrote some of the best-loved novels in the English language, including "Jane Eyre" (1847), "Wuthering Heights" (1847) and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" (1948). In 2011, another one of Brontë's tiny handwritten manuscripts sold for $1.07 million. Rival museums launched a bidding battle over the item -- which was penned in 1830 when she was 14.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/charlotte-bronte-rare-manuscript/index.html

APRIL 21, 2022

Tiny book written by 13-year-old Charlotte Bronte up for sale at antique book fair

By Alexandra Mae Jones

Charlotte Brontë’s newly rediscovered manuscript BOOK OF RYHMES will be on view for the first time in more than a century at the booth of James Cummins Bookseller in the New York Antiquarian Book Fair on Thursday 21 April. (Maggs Bros. Ltd.)

A book smaller than a baseball card which was written by Charlotte Bronte is one of the rare pieces up for auction this weekend at what organizers call “the world’s finest antiquarian book fair,” boasting rare manuscripts and books from vendors all over the world. The 62nd New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, put on by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America's (ABAA), is opening its doors again this weekend to rare book lovers at a 55,000 ft. armoury hall in New York City.

On Thursday, the fair opened for preview, with the main events occurring from Friday to Sunday — a comeback event for the festival that was cancelled the past two years due to the pandemic.

One of the pieces that made waves ahead of the festival is a miniature unpublished manuscript written by the famous British writer Charlotte Bronte when she was just 13 years old. Only 15 pages long, the tiny book is hand stitched inside its original brown paper covers. It’s asking price is reportedly set at US$1.25 million, according to the BBC. https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/tiny-book-written-by-13-year-old-charlotte-bronte-up-forsale-at-antique-book-fair-1.5871405

The front of the manuscript bears the text “A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Bronte, Sold By Nobody and Printed By Herself,” in hand-inked lettering. At the bottom of the front page, the date “Dec 17, 1829” is written. According to a press release from Maggs Bros. Ltd. and James Cummins Bookseller, the book dealers bringing the manuscript to the festival, this will be the first time that the manuscript has been on view in more than a century, since an auction in 1916.

Previous manuscripts written by Bronte have garnered significant interest recently, with seven miniature books of hers selling for US$15 million in December 2021, the release stated. “A BOOK OF RYHMES is well known in the world of Brontë scholarship, for a mention appears in Mrs. Gaskell’s Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857) from the transcription of Charlotte’s own handwritten catalogue of the books books she wrote in 1829 and 1830,” the release states. “However, the manuscript is entirely unpublished.” Charlotte Bronte and her sisters Emily and Anne are known for their writing in the early 1800s. Charlotte’s most enduring work is Jane Eyre, a novel still read and celebrated today.

But before they wrote their famous novels, the Brontes churned out many handmade stories. In 1829, when this newly rediscovered manuscript was written, the Brontes were living in the Yorkshire village of Haworth. The sisters, along with brother Patrick Branwell, created a rich imaginary world to play in, which they wrote poems and adventure stories for, binding them in tiny hand-made books. Bronte’s “Book of Rhymes” contains reference to Canada — one of the pieces inside the manuscript is entitled “Meditations while Journeying in a Canadian Forest,” according to the press release.

With 185 exhibitors, Bronte’s childhood writings are far from the only draw for the Book Fair this year. Some of the other exhibits with a high price tag include a collection of more than 700 wine books and manuscripts dating from the 6th century all the way up to 2006. The collection, put together by wine maker Sean Thackery is up for US$2 million.

Although many of the books and writings for sale at the Book Fair are antiques, some still have striking relevance today — a collection worth more than US$2.1 million being shown at the fair

by London dealer Peter Harrington contains more than 800 works on the history of climate change and environmentalism. The collection spans 2,000 years of writing. Called “One Hundred Seconds to Midnight,” it was curated to make the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Other highlights at the festival include more than 220 books for US$135,000 that once belonged to the late singer Amy Winehouse, as well as a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, valued at US$358,000.

And if none of that appeals, well, there’s always the album of watercolours from 1860 showcasing all the different types of ice cream sculptures it was possible to order from a specific chef in Austria, which is selling for US$10,000 — or the US$15,000 steal of an illustrated manuscript that is the only copy left in the world, written by a Renaissance food writer in 1505 on the dangers of eating rich foods.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/tiny-book-written-by-13-year-old-charlotte-bronte-up-forsale-at-antique-book-fair-1.5871405

APRIL 15, 2022

Death Masks, Dopamine Décor, Antiquarian Books, and More Design Finds

By Diana Budds

Photo: Madeline Toll and French + Tye/House of Joy/gestalten 2022, Honey & Wax Booksellers on behalf of The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, Yoram Reshef/Courtesy of SFMOMA

Every couple of weeks, I’ll round up and share the objects, designers, news, and events worth knowing about.

Rare Architecture Ephemera and Maps at the Antiquarian Book Fair The 62nd Antiquarian Book Fair is next week at the Park Avenue Armory, with 200 exhibitors from around the world showing off their prized prints, maps, ephemera, and books. There’s a good deal of the latter for architecture fans and New York City history buffs: an 1867 cartographic directory of all the businesses on Broadway below 14th Street that’s 118 inches long and winds into a maple canister, and the first annual report from the Department of Public Parks, which discusses details about the early days of Central Park (including all the animals in the zoo!), at James Cummins Bookseller; a first edition of Benjamin Asher’s American Builder’s Companion, the main resource for Federal-style builders in the U.S., at Bull’s Head Rare Books; and a series of French architecture prints done up 1960s Day-Glo style from Honey & Wax. From April 21 to 24. https://www.curbed.com/2022/04/design-edit-neri-oxman-death-masks-julio-torresbook.html

Photo: Bull’s Head Rare Books on behalf of The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

Photo: James Cummins Booksellers on behalf of The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

https://www.curbed.com/2022/04/design-edit-neri-oxman-death-masks-julio-torresbook.html

APRIL 22, 2022

Tiny book by Charlotte Brontë attracts bibliophiles in New York

By Nora Quintanilla

A miniature book of poems made by 13-year-old Charlotte Bronte, to go on sale next month for $1.25 million, is on display at the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair in New York, New York, USA, 21 April 2022. EPA-EFE/SARAH YENESEL

With 15 pages and 10 poems, a tiny book written in 1829 by Charlotte Brontë attracted the attention of bibliophiles on Thursday due its historical value, and also its price: $1.25 million.

https://www.efe.com/efe/english/destacada/tiny-book-by-charlotte-bronte-attractsbibliophiles-in-new-york/50000261-4789091

An employee from Peter Harrington holds a first edition copy of 'The Great Gatsby' during the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair in New York, New York, USA, 21 April 2022. EPA-EFE/SARAH YENESEL

The recently rediscovered "Book of Rhymes" fits in the palm of a hand and will rest in a showcase, like a jewel, until Sunday during the 2022 New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which brings together booksellers and collectors from all over the world.

A page of 'Male Couples,' an archive of 106 photos dating from 1856 to 1960 selling for $35,000, is on display at the Walter Reuben Bookstore during the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair in New York, New York, USA, 21 April 2022. EPA-EFE/SARAH YENESEL

https://www.efe.com/efe/english/destacada/tiny-book-by-charlotte-bronte-attractsbibliophiles-in-new-york/50000261-4789091

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

By Mustafa Marie

With the participation of 200 exhibitors, Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair prepares for its 62nd edition

62nd Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair - social media

CAIRO – 17 February 2022: New York City is preparing for the launch of the 62nd Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, from April 21 to April 24. The fair is officially supervised by the American Antique Booksellers Association and the International Association of Antique Booksellers.

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/112989/With-the-participation-of-200-exhibitors-AnnualABAA-New-York

The 62nd Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) will be attended by nearly 200 exhibitors from 14 countries. Exhibitors highlight their wealth of rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, fine covers, illustrations, historical documents and prints.

Exhibits at the NYIABF come in various disciplines, from arts, sciences, medicine, and literature to history, gastronomy, fashion, and philosophy.

In recent years, the NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young people looking for rare and valuable items. In the 62nd edition, groups of young people from different countries of the world will participate. Numbers of participants come as follows: United Kingdom (32), France (19), Italy (8), Germany (5), Netherlands (4), Austria (3), Denmark (2), Spain (1), Argentina (1), Canada (1) Czech Republic (1), Georgia (1), Hungary (1), and Japan (1).

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/112989/With-the-participation-of-200-exhibitors-AnnualABAA-New-York

APRIL 15, 2022

ALLA NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR

Alexander McQueen: il suo curriculum originale va in vendita By a.b.

Un curriculum scritto a macchina, probabilmente nel 1992 o 1993, sbiadito dal tempo ma con un valore particolare: l'autore è infatti Alexander McQueen, fondatore dell'omonimo marchio, attualmente disegnato da Sarah Burton e nell'orbita del Gruppo Kering.

Il cv del designer, finora scomparso a 40 anni dall'azienda Schubertiade nell'Upper East Side

parte della collezione di Alice Smith (amica e musa dello stilista, nel 2010), verrà messo in vendita dal 21 al 24 aprile Music alla New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, newyorkese, con un prezzo di base di 1.000 dollari.

https://www.fashionmagazine.it/community/alla-new-york-international-antiquarian-bookfair-alexander-mcqueen-il-suo-curriculum-originale-va-in-vendita-109400

Leggendo si scorrono le sue esperienze di studio e lavoro, dal master of Fine Arts in Fashion Design alla Central Saint Martin's School of Art, all'apprendistato di quattro anni in Savile Row, fino ai periodi presso Anderson and Sheppard ad appena 15 anni dopo avere abbandonato precocemente la scuola, per passare a Gieves and Hawkes a 18 e a Koji Tatsuno, dove ad appena 19 anni Alexander (noto anche come Lee) seguiva i clienti del made to measure.

Dal 1990 la svolta: McQueen inizia a collaborare come freelance da Romeo Gigli ed è l'inizio di un'ascesa che lo porterà prima a diventare chief designer di Givenchy al posto di John Galliano (dal 1996 al 2001) e successivamente a fondare la sua griffe, entrando nel Gruppo Gucci.

McQueen è stato nominato British Designer of the Year per quattro volte e insignito di un analogo riconoscimento dal Cfda americano nel 2003. Sempre nel 2003 ha ricevuto l'onorificenza di Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Cbe).

Dal curriculum emergono tra i suoi interessi le foto vintage e il cinema d'autore degli anni Sessanta e Settanta.

https://www.fashionmagazine.it/community/alla-new-york-international-antiquarian-bookfair-alexander-mcqueen-il-suo-curriculum-originale-va-in-vendita-109400

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

NY International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns to the Park Avenue Armory, April 21-24 A first edition of Pride & Prejudice will be offered at the NY International Antiquarian Book Fair by Type Punch Matrix.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/ny-international-antiquarian-bookfair-returns-park-avenue-armory-april-21-24

Courtesy of NYIABF A first edition of Pride & Prejudice will be offered at the NY International Antiquarian Book Fair by Type Punch Matrix.

New York — The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF)—officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates— is making its much-anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21- 24, 2022, for its 62nd Edition.

The NYIABF is a cultural mainstay in the city and is proud to return as a highlight of the Spring cultural calendar in New York City and the New York region at large. Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant.

Universally referred to as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF is thrilled to showcase nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly interna- tional fair. This year, as world travel restrictions are lifted, the fair organizers are working closely with their international dealers to ensure a seamless return to the States and will welcome exhibitors from 14 different countries. An impressive number of US exhibitors also highlight the incredible wealth of material available stateside. Exhibitors will present a vast treasure trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera.

Several of the 2022 exhibitors have participated in the NYIABF since its inception, attesting to the fair’s longevity and relevance to its dealers and audiences. However, the fair continues to attract new antiquarian booksellers and attendees as it evolves,, welcoming 19 new exhibitors this year including Auger Down Books, Autographes des Siècles, Brenner's Books - Rare & Collectable, Bull's Head Rare Books LLC, Cleveland Book Company, Daniel / Oliver Gallery, Evening Star Books, First Edition Rare Books, LLC, Johnson Rare Books, Le Bookiniste, Le Zograscope, Liberty Book Store, lizzyoung bookseller, Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books Ltd, studio montespecchio di jan van der donk, Temple Rare Books, Voewood Rare Books and William Chrisant & Sons.

The fair’s specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first edi- tions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual—to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics—the fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.

In recent years, NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking one-of-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Prices range from $50 to millions.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/ny-international-antiquarian-bookfair-returns-park-avenue-armory-april-21-24

List of Exhibitors In its 62nd Edition, NYIABF continues to endorse the finest tradition of material culled from American and international antiquarian booksellers. In addition to 99 U.S. booksellers, NYIABF enjoys strong interna- tional participation with booksellers hailing from the United Kingdom (32), France (19), Italy (8), Germany (5), The Netherlands (4), Austria (3), Denmark (2), Spain (1), Argentina (1), Canada (1), Czech Republic (1), Georgia (1), Hungary (1) & Japan (1).

A full list of exhibitors may be found here: https://www.nyantiquarianbookfair.com/dealers Location Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065 Preview: $60 (Includes one daily re-admission) Daily Admission: $30; Students: $10 (with valid ID - at the door only) Run of Show: $45 (at door only) Special Event - Discovery Day Sunday, April 24 | 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.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/ny-international-antiquarian-bookfair-returns-park-avenue-armory-april-21-24

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

By Rebecca Rego Barry

Spring 2022 Issue of FB&C Published

COURTESY OF THE JAMES FORD BELL LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Detail from a hand-colored facsimile of Olaus Magnus’ Carta marina (1539).

Our spring issue leaves the printer tomorrow and will begin landing in mailboxes next week — here’s a sneak peek at what subscribers can look forward to. We explore early printed maps in this issue, particularly maps that depict sea monsters, and even more specifically, the work of Olaus Magnus (1490-1557), whose Carta Marina (pictured above) became a major source of iconography of the fabled creatures.

We also feature a major private collection of Samuel Johnson & James Boswell, collected over three generations, and Nick Basbanes profiles Bay Area bookseller Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books.

For those traveling to New York for the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair in April, we showcase two must-see exhibitions: the new ‘Treasures’ exhibit at the New York Public Library and Black Literature Matters at the New York Society Library. We also have the skinny on Manhattan’s new Press Room bar, museum, and print shop.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/spring-2022-issue-fbc-published

Plus, we share collector news about Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, W. Somerset Maugham, and more.

Three spring stories will go live on March 1. The complete auction preview supplement is already online for your browsing pleasure.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/spring-2022-issue-fbc-published

MARCH 22, 2022

By Rebecca Rego Barry

Rare Book Week New York Preview Part I

COURTESY OF THE JAMES FORD BELL LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA VIA WIKIMEDIA

New York’s Rare Book Week is revving back up after last year’s Covid break. This two-part series will preview book fairs (part I) and auctions and exhibitions (part II) taking place in NYC between April 19-26.

First off, the main event: The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) makes its much-anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24. Keep an eye out for these highlights:

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/rare-book-week-new-york-preview-part-i

COURTESY OF THE FIRST EDITION RARE BOOKS

From The First Edition Rare Books, a classic of film history: A first edition of A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture by Terry Ramsaye, two volumes with scarce dust jackets. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1926. Octavo, [2 volumes], lxx, [2], 400pp; 401-868pp.

Blue cloth, title stamped in gilt on spines with decorative gilt image on front covers. Date on title and copyright pages is the same with no additional printings mentioned. Top edges gilt, untrimmed fore edges. Both volumes have frontispiece portraits with tissue covers and all illustrative plates are present. Bindings are solid, and the text of both volumes is clean. Price: $1,500

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/rare-book-week-new-york-preview-part-i

COURTESY OF LES ENLUMINURES

From Les Enluminures, an illuminated manuscript: Psalter of François de Dinteville. In Latin, Illuminated manuscript on parchment. 9 large miniatures, by the Workshop of Étienne Colaud.

France (Auxerre or Paris), c. 1525. This extremely refined and sophisticated manuscript was made at the height of the French Renaissance for bishop François de Dinteville, uncle of the ambassador Jean de Dinteville famously depicted in Hans Holbein’s portrait The Ambassadors. Price on request

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/rare-book-week-new-york-preview-part-i

COURTESY OF RIVERRUN BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS

From RiverRun Books & Manuscripts, an unusual artist’s book: Keith A. Smith’s Book 91 ["String Book"]. Barrytown, New York: Space Heater Multiples, 1982. Embossed title on first leaf. 24 unnumbered leaves, thick Fabriano Rosaspina Avorio paper, with linen cords strung through holes in paper. Bound by the artist in cloth boards, and with the original plastic printed bag. In fine, well-preserved condition. One of only 50 copies, signed in pencil and dated "Autumn 1982" at end. “Since I was making many one-of-a-kind images with no text or pictures, [Phil Zimmermann] and I decided upon a sequence created by thread piercing the pages of an otherwise blank book. Turning the pages creates a sound, and several threads piercing pages varies the tension of turning pages. Viewed with a single light source there are cast shadows that vary in focus. I consider Book 91, Sting Book a photographic book" – the artist. Price: $30,000

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/rare-book-week-new-york-preview-part-i

COURTESY OF EVENING STAR BOOKS

From Evening Star Books, an Egyptian set: Budge, E.A. Wallis. The Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani in the British Museum; Book of the Dead: Facsimile of the Papyrus of Ani in the British Museum The Egyptian Text with Interlinear Transliteration and Translation, a Running Translation, Introduction, Etc.; Printed by the Order of the Trustees. London: Sold at the British Museum; and by Longmans & Co. ... and Henry Frowde, 1895; 1894. First edition; Second Edition. The text volume is illustrated with the hieroglyphs throughout. The plate volume is illustrated with 37 chromolithographs, bright and beautiful, showing the images of the Papyrus of Ani. The text volume is the first edition of Budge's Book of the Dead (the Papyrus of Ani portion), and was issued as a companion to the second edition of the facsimile of the Papyrus of Ani (known as the plate volume). The facsimile of the Papyrus of Ani was first issued in 1893. This set is extraordinarily difficult to find together, and in collectible condition. A fascinating work of classical scholarship, one that made ancient Egyptian religious traditions accessible to English scholars and readers. Price: $2,500 Additionally, we should note that ABAA Connect makes its return to the fair as well. This program allows local institutions, including the New York Public Library and Columbia University, to request items at the fair from exhibitors, and have those items purchased for the institutions by various donors. Curators will browse a list of items exhibitors will be bringing to the fair, and choose items they are interested in acquiring. Curators and donors will attend the fair and discover these items together in person, and donors can purchase them for the institutions requesting them.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/rare-book-week-new-york-preview-part-i

APRIL 14, 2022

The Library of Oliver Sacks Offered by Bookseller James Cummins

COURTESY OF JAMES CUMMINS BOOKSELLER

New York — James Cummins announces its latest offering: the Working Library of Oliver Sacks.

Like the tentacles of his octopus bookplate, Oliver Sacks’ interests were many and wide ranging.

His library, offered here for the first time, gives a glimpse into the mind of the most widely read and respected neurologist since Freud.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/library-oliver-sacks-offered-bookseller-jamescummins

With his best-selling book of essays, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, he brought the concerns of clinical neurology to an international readership, with nimbly phrased observations and the same compassion and kindness he accorded his patients. Sacks wrote about disorders and disability and their effects on individuals’ lives, including his own. His work brought forth adaptations for stage and television and other media, and his example inspired fellow scientists.

Long a very private person, Sacks wrote about his life as a gay man in America, in the 1960s and beyond, in his autobiography On the Move (2015).

The library of Oliver Sacks, approximately 1,000 volumes, reflects his wide reading and many of the topics on which he wrote (some books are heavily annotated, often in the multi-colored felt tip pens he favored). He cherished his library and chose as his bookplate a design of a reading octopus.

Sacks was born into a medical family in London and was educated at St Paul’s School, where he met lifelong friends Eric Korn and Jonathan Miller (also a doctor and writer). All three were polymaths, or, as he wrote, “we were obnoxious, noisy, clever, Jewish boys”, keen on science and literature. Sacks had numerous uncles, one of whom inspired Sacks’ early interest in chemistry and about whom he later wrote in Uncle Tungsten (2001). Sacks studied at Queen’s College, Oxford, trained in medicine at the Middlesex hospital and graduated in 1958. In 1961 he came to the United States to train in neurology in San Francisco and at UCLA. From 1965 he was based in New York, affiliated with Beth Abraham hospital in the Bronx; he also held academic posts at New York University and Columbia.

His first book, Migraine (1970), was reviewed by W.H. Auden for the New York Review of Books, the first link in a long connection between Sacks and editor Robert Silvers, whose steady encouragement Sacks credited with making a writer of him. Sacks wrote some thirty essays for the NY Review over the years, even during his final hospitalization, where he examined his own experiences with clarity and wit. Some of the essays from the early 1980s, including “The Lost Mariner”, “The Twins”, and “The Autist Artist” formed the core of his widely acclaimed collection The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985). There were many books after that.

As a prominent neurologist and compassionate doctor, Sacks was esteemed by a wide array of colleagues. Many of his essays are magisterial examinations of the professional literature of the field and related aspects of medicine and philosophy. The library, comprising approximately 1,000 books, contains his marked working copies of many of the books discussed in the essays, presentation copies with reverential or affectionate inscriptions, gratitude for his advance comments used by publishers as cover copy or blurbs, as well as a variety of books on medical subjects, perception, evolution and other topics. Some books include Sacks’ ownership signature, a few of these dating back to his teenage and medical school years. A number of volumes have marks of other earlier owners, including Gilbert H. Glaser, M.D. (1920-2012), founder of the Department of Neurology at Yale.

In his essay “Remembering Francis Crick” (NY Review 24 March 2005), Sacks recalls how he read an advance proof of Crick’s The Astonishing Hypothesis “with great admiration and delight”.

The library includes Sacks’ copy of the published book with an inserted inscription from Crick thanking Sacks for his comment (which appears on the jacket’s back panel along with a blurb from James D. Watson). For his bookplate, Sacks had two designs prepared. The first was of a cycad, alluding to his book The Island of the Colour-blind and Cycad Island. “One summer after the war, in Bournemouth, I managed to obtain a very large octopus from a fisherman and kept it in the bath in our hotel room, which I filled with saltwater,” Sacks recalled his early interest in cephalopods in a chapter of Uncle Tungsten. He chose instead the image of a reading octopus, “which he adored”, as his friend and executor Dr. Orrin Devinsky recalls, and Sacks took great pleasure in affixing the bookplates into the books in his library. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/library-oliver-sacks-offered-bookseller-jamescummins

APRIL 2022

James Joyce at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2022

By Sarah Funke Butler

CREDIT: SARAH FUNKE BUTLER - Berenice Abbott, “James Joyce." Silver gelatin print, 1926.

Signed by Abbott. Offered by Schubertiade Music & Arts (booth A36) $4,000.

Having immersed myself thoroughly in various activities of this year’s Ulysses centennial, I came to the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair hoping to see a lot of Joyce – in particular, a copy of the prospectus for Ulysses publisher Sylvia Beach put out for her Shakespeare & Co.’s 1922 first edition. While I didn’t find a prospectus, I was not disappointed.

James Cummins Bookseller (booth A4) has an original of the Camille Ruf photograph of Joyce that Beach used for the prospectus. The photograph is inscribed by Joyce to John Quinn in 1921, prior to the 1922 publication of the book. (This item sold as soon as the fair opened.) Quinn, the New York lawyer who defended Ulysses in court against obscenity charges, was a great patron of writers and artists; through that patronage he amassed an impressive collection. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/james-joyce-new-york-antiquarian-book-fair2022

Cummins also has something you’re unlikely to see anywhere else – Joyce’s earliest appearance in print. Joyce was 18 when “Ibsen’s New Drama,” his glowing review of Ibsen’s “When We Dead Awaken,” appeared in The Fortnightly Review in 1900. Joyce learned enough of the language to write to Ibsen in Dano-Norwegian the following year, and to read his works in the original.

I loved seeing Joyce’s work appear in this context, between an essay on Moliere and an article on “The Next Agricultural Census.”

Cummins also boasts a pristine example of the first edition in its fragile blue wrappers, which were given to browning.

More on that in the Ulysses round-up below.

A year after “Ibsen’s New Drama” appeared, Joyce self-published his essay “A Day of the Rabblement” in a pamphlet shared with “A Forgotten Aspect of the University Question” by his friend F. J. C. Skeffington – their university newspaper having rejected both pieces. Joyce here advocates for freedom of expression in the Irish theater. Peter Harrington (booth B15) has a nice copy, with the creases showing how it was folded for distribution to their classmates’ letterboxes. (£12,500)

CREDIT: SARAH FUNKE BUTLER Shelf of Joyce material at Peter Harrington's booth.

Also at Harrington: A beautiful 1927 first edition of Pomes Penyeach from Shakespeare & Co., in as bright an absinthe green as we’ve seen as it is prone to fading and browning. (£1,500)

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/james-joyce-new-york-antiquarian-book-fair2022

A first edition – Shakespeare & Co., 1929 – of Our Exagmination Round His Factification for Incamination of Work in Progress, the earliest critique of Work in Progress while it was in progress, published as a fundraiser for Joyce. It contains Samuel Beckett’s first appearance in print, with “Dante... Bruno. Vico… Joyce,” which opens the book. This copy is from the library of Jewish-American novelist John B. Sanford, best-known for his own experimental fiction; with Sanford’s blindstamp, and with his ownership signature using his given name “Julian L. Shapiro,” Madrid, April 4th, 1931. (£1,250) A first English edition – Egoist Press, 1917 – of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, inscribed

by Joyce to an early reviewer of Ulysses: “To George and Mary Slocombe, James Joyce, Paris 7. i. 1926. (£27,500) For a fun copy of A Portrait of the Artist…, visit Type Punch Matrix (booth A35). There you’ll find a modern paperback belonging to English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. If you would like to own that copy, however, you will have to purchase all 225 books from Winehouse’s library catalogued by TPM. According to cofounder Rebecca Romney, “This is a collection that deserves, as much as possible, to stay together. Not only because they speak biographically about Winehouse’s life, but also because they speak to her work as an artist and as a writer.” ($135,000) Jumping ahead a decade from “Ibsen’s New Drama,” Triolet Rare Books (booth D22) has “Gas from a Burner,” Joyce’s 1912 broadside satire composed after the publisher of Dubliners rescinded his contract and the printer destroyed nearly every copy. ($55,000) There's also a beautiful, bright orange copy of Storiella as She Is Syung (first edition of this section of Work in Progress, which later became Finnegans Wake, one of 175 copies published by Corvinus Press, 1937, $6,500); Tales Told of Shem and Shaun (first edition, again a section of Work in Progress, this one published by Black Sun Press in1929, with a frontispiece symbolic “portrait” of Joyce by Brancusi, $2,250); Pomes Penyeach (first edition published by Sylvia Beach at Shakespeare & Co. in 1927, $450); and The Dead (1982 fine press edition, one of 150 copies published for sale by Duval and Hamilton, 170 copies the entire edition, $1,500).

To hear Joyce read from Anna Livia Plurabelle – another section of Finnegans Wake – stop

by Shapero Rare Books (booth E3), where you’ll see a record produced by the Orthological Institute in Cambridge, England, in 1929; to listen you’ll have to bring your own record player. ($1,500) You can read it as you listen, as Shapero also has copy #3 of 6 copies that were for sale of the 50 copies in total printed on light green paper by Crosby Gaige in 1928. This copy bears the bookplate of one Esther Hawley. ($4,700) The copy of Finnegans Wake behind it is one of 425 copies, Faber 1939, and includes the 16-page leaflet “Corrections of Misprints in FINNEGANS WAKE.” ($11,400)

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/james-joyce-new-york-antiquarian-book-fair2022

CREDIT: SARAH FUNKE BUTLER Contract between Joyce and Viking Press, offered by Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books.

Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books (booth B21) has the original contract between Joyce and Viking Press for the 1939 American edition of Finnegans Wake – still called in this contract, “Work in Progress,” signed and multiply initialed by Joyce. ($65,000) The Old New York Book Shop (located in Atlanta, Georgia and here in booth A22) has a neat copy of the Viking edition, in the dust-jacket – a copy Joyce purchased in Zurich in the summer of 1939, shortly after its May publication, and then sent from Brittany to a friend back in Zurich.

Joyce’s handwritten return address on a bit of the original shipping packaging is affixed in the rear of this copy, thus: “Envoie de J. Joyce / Hotel Saint Christophe / La Baule.” ($12,500) It wouldn’t be a Fair for me without a stop at Maggs Bros Ltd. (booth E2). There I was a greeted by a letter Joyce wrote in French to the publisher of a French translation of his Dubliners story “Araby,” discussing among other things the translation of the word “desire,” as it appears in this sentence: “All my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: ‘O love! O love!’ many times.” Joyce mistakenly dated the letter January 17, 1921, though he wrote it in 1922 – a slip to which all are prone, as one year turns to another. In this instance, Joyce’s gaffe inadvertently masks that he was writing just weeks before the publication of Ulysses. (£10,000) Maggs also has a lovely copy of the first edition of Ulysses published in England – by The Bodley Head – copy #38 of 100 copies on handmade paper, in the vellum binding designed by Eric Gill with a Homeric bow in gilt on the cover and in the original cardboard slipcase. (£35,000)

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/james-joyce-new-york-antiquarian-book-fair2022

Joyce’s

Last

Inscription

Early visitors to Peter Harrington’s booth were able to see something truly remarkable: Joyce’s final presentation. It was a second printing of a 1932 copy of Dubliners, from the Albatross Modern Continental Library Volume I, which he inscribed in green ink “To Gustave Zumsteg, James Joyce Zurich 4.1.1941”.

The son of Hulda Zumsteg, the owner of Joyce’s favorite Zurich restaurant, “Kronenhalle,” Gustave lived in Paris from 1936 as designer for a silk trading company, and was instrumental in securing Joyce’s return to Zurich from Paris in December 1940. Harrington pointed to the Ellmann biography of Joyce to support this as Joyce’s final inscription: When Joyce and his family arrived in Zurich, Joyce had “arrived broken and sick, prematurely aged.” He dined on January 8, "as often, at the Kronenhalle, where the Zumstegs had often been kind to him, and afterwards he remarked casually to Frau Zumsteg over a bottle of Mont Benet, ‘Perhaps I won’t be here much longer’... Two days later, on Friday, January 10, he came again to the restaurant.” He fell ill that evening, was operated on the next morning, and died on January 13.

The

First

Edition

of

Ulysses

The first edition of Ulysses was published in 1922 in an edition of 1000 copies, broken down into three tiers: · 100 copies printed on Dutch handmade paper, press-numbered 1-100, and signed by Joyce (350 francs) · 150 copies printed on larger sheets of vergé d'Arches, earning them the name, “giant Joyces,” also press-numbered (numbers 101-250) but unsigned (250 francs) · the final 750 copies (numbers 251-750) were press-numbered on handmade paper (150 francs) The covers were in the blue of the Greek flag, with drop out white lettering. They are fragile and prone to browning with time and whitening at the edges with wear. There are always several copies at the NY book fair, in a range of condition and at a range of price points. I’ve focused below on copies that stand out and I hope you will enjoy the hunt for more!

As mentioned, James Cummins’s copy wins for condition: copies this bright are available with less and less frequency. Harrington has a slightly less attractive copy, but one with a nice history: it is copy #823 which he has tracked, through the 1996 census published by Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, to the collection of copies allocated to Joyce’s great patron Harriet Shaw Weaver to sell. ($74,000) Lucius Books (booth C22) has copy #723. It would not be unusual for contemporary buyers to have their book rebound in their own library binding; in this instance, it is Lucius Books who has commissioned a binding, from acclaimed British binder Stephen Conway. Conway has interpreted the text into its covers with imagery of a clock to suggest Joyce’s organization of Bloomsday – June 16, 1904 – into episodes mapped to various times of day. This copy is unusually nice as the original covers, still quite bright and lovely, have been preserved and bound-in in the front and rear, along with the four-page “Extracts from Press Notices” prepared by Sylvia Beach. (£18,500) Temple Rare Books / Temple Book Binders of Oxford (booth A33) has a 1927 9th printing of the first edition, bound in a 1981 abstract binding designed by Sally Lou Smith, inspired by the Dublin skyline at night. This copy is inscribed by Joyce to H.G. Wells: “To H.G. Wells respectfully James Joyce 5 November 1928 Paris.” https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/james-joyce-new-york-antiquarian-book-fair2022

The addition of “respectfully” lands this among the more verbose Joyce inscriptions I have seen.

Joyce had with Wells – as he did with many writers, critics, and friends – a rocky relationship. It began with Wells’s high praise in print for A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, but ended with his gracious but adamant bafflement with Joyce’s “literary experiment” as seen in Ulysses and, ultimately, Finnegans Wake. (£45,000)

CREDIT: SARAH FUNKE BUTLER Joyce inscribed this copy of Ulysses to his brother Stanislaus.

Saving the best for last The most significant copy of Ulysses at the fair – indeed, the most significant copy currently known on the open market – is the first edition that Joyce inscribed to his brother Stanislaus: “To Stannie / Jim.” Joyce’s biographer Richard Ellmann put it best: “The steadiest influence available was his brother. Stanislaus might be tedious, but he was a rock.”

It is difficult to overstate the volumes contained in those few words – and in the place and date – “Paris / 11 February 1922,” soon after Joyce had himself received the first two copies off the press on February 2. Though even the most significant institutional copies of Ulysses inscribed by Joyce take this brief format, only one of those is signed “Jim,” a nickname Joyce reserved for family members. Manhattan Rare Book Company (booth C10) proprietor Michael DiRuggiero noted that Joyce only inscribed ten numbered copies in February 1922, the month of publication. Of those, the only one inscribed by Joyce earlier than the 11th was the one he presented to his wife Nora Barnacle, a copy long since lost. Of those known copies, one other is in private hands, leaving this copy inscribed to Stannie as the most meaningful available copy of Ulysses inscribed by Joyce. ($1.5 million)

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/james-joyce-new-york-antiquarian-book-fair2022

MAY 4, 2022

Record Sales at NY’s 2022 Antiquarian Book Fair

COURTESY OF THE NYIABF

New York — Last week, the 62nd Edition of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF), officially sanctioned by the ABAA and ILAB and produced and managed

by Sanford L. Smith + Associates, returned to an in-person format. 9,500 visitors flowed into the Park Avenue Armory throughout the weekend to enjoy unmatched offerings from nearly 200 exhibitors from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair.

The fair organizers cited a 5% increase of attendees from 2019, and up 15% from 2020. They consider the 62nd edition of the NYIABF to be the most successful iteration of the fair in at least the past decade, both in terms of sales and attendance. There was also a noted uptick in younger collectors and visitors. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/record-sales-nys-2022-antiquarian-book-fair

Reporting a record amount of sales since its inception, the NYIABF cited major sales from James Cummins Booksellers and Maggs Bros., who jointly sold a miniature book by the 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë, which was purchased by a charity for $1.25M. The charity plans to donate it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum. Ben Kinmont Bookseller confirmed significant sales, particularly that of a much-anticipated, high-ticket item, The Thackrey Library, which sold for $2M during the fair. Peter Harrington Rare Books also reported major sales including the sale of their first edition of The Great Gatsby, which was purchased by an American collector.

Notable guests including Patti Smith, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jesse Paris Smith, Ulla Johnson, Jill Bokor, Guillaume Kientz, Andrew Roberts, Alex Assouline, Lily Koppel, Russell Piccione, Claire Olshan, Stephanie Lacava, Gaetano Pesce, Lady Liliana Cavendish, Jeanette Hayes joined Sanford Smith, owner of Sanford L. Smith + Associates, for an exclusive preview on April 21st.

Bibliophiles everywhere are invited to continue the hunt for rare books and all manner of fine works on paper May 4-5, 2022 during the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America’s Virtual Book Fair: New York Edition.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/record-sales-nys-2022-antiquarian-book-fair

APRIL 13, 2022

James Bond Screenplays, Scripts & More on Offer at NY Antiquarian Book Fair

COURTESY OF PETER HARRINGTON

London — The most extensive collection of James Bond film scripts, screenplays, manuscripts, storyboards and film treatments will be jointly offered for sale by world-leading London-based rare book dealers Peter Harrington and Adrian Harrington Rare Books for £500,000, in time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of 007 on the big screen. The set of approximately 120 original and inscribed screenplays, scripts, costume designs, storyboards, publicity material and even legal correspondence related to some of the franchise’s most memorable characters and moments on and off screen constitute a dream haul of collectables for any fan of Bond’s onscreen escapades over the past 60 years. The film script collection is a part of a much larger archive of Ian Fleming and James Bond material, formerly a part of The Schøyen Collection. The significant private holding has been jointly purchased by Peter Harrington and Adrian Harrington Rare Books, and catalogued by Jon Gilbert, the world’s foremost authority on the literary James Bond and the author of the award-winning Ian Fleming: The Bibliography. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/james-bond-screenplays-scripts-more-offer-nyantiquarian-book-fair

Included within the larger acquisition is close to 600 items – signed and inscribed first editions and association copies of Fleming’s works, proofs and advance copies, variant issues and collected editions, drafts, notes and letters, galley sheets and annotated works, one of only three copies of Fleming’s first published book – Kemsley Newspapers Reference Book and James Bond continuations by Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and others. The collection of James Bond film scripts, screenplays and original film treatments is unrivalled.

“When it comes to film collectables related to the James Bond movie franchise, this collection is an unparalleled and remarkably comprehensive archive of the birth and journey of Bond on the big screen. The collection has been enthusiastically curated by Martin Schøyen – a legend himself and one of the most respected private collectors of antiquarian books and manuscripts for almost 70 years now. It is a privilege to be involved in finding this remarkable collection a brand new home, one that is worthy of the effort gone into amassing this set of Bondiana and that pays fitting tribute to what is perhaps the most iconic and legendary film franchise of all time,” Pom Harrington, owner of Peter Harrington.

“The producers of the James Bond film franchise were aware of Martin’s archive. They indicated that nobody had attempted such a scholarly and focused approach to assembling material of this nature. Dr Schøyen’s collection, curated by me, has been commended by Ian Fleming Publications and the Estate of Ian Fleming. As Fleming’s bibliographer, I am unaware of such a wealth of original manuscript and typescript material in a private James Bond collection. With the 60th anniversary of the first Bond film approaching, now is a unique opportunity to acquire a magnificent collection,” Jon Gilbert, senior specialist and resident Fleming expert at Adrian Harrington Rare Books.

Highlights include: • ‘The Birth of a Legend’ – Wolf Mankowitz & Richard Maibaum’s earliest draft screenplay for the first Bond film Dr. No, released in 1962.

• Roald Dahl’s manuscript first draft screenplay for You Only Live Twice – which at 244 pages is the most substantial Roald Dahl manuscript to exist in private hands and come on the market in decades.

• Storyboard sheets titled “Bond Pursues Vesper – Car Chase” from the 2006 Casino Royale film, visualising the memorable motor-pursuit through Montenegro of Le Chiffre by Bond, with Daniel Craig clearly sketched.

• Screenplay for Warhead, an unrealised Bond film written between 1976-1978 that has been described by Martin Schøyen as “what would have been the best James Bond film up to that point, had it been produced.”

• M.G. Carter’s unique colour Warhead set design, showing an underground chamber inside the Statue of Liberty, hiding mechanical sharks with nuclear warheads ready to be dispatched into the sewers of New York.

• Manuscript lyrics written in full by Louis Armstrong for the song ‘We Have All the Time in the World’, from the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which made a poignant reappearance in No Time to Die. Signed by Armstrong and inscribed to his long-time manager Joe Glaser, “To Joe from Satch” with an additional humorous note “yea my debut song”. Lyrics written on the blank verso of a printed comedy weight-loss regime. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/james-bond-screenplays-scripts-more-offer-nyantiquarian-book-fair

• Extensive material and correspondence concerning the creation of the film Thunderball (1965) – an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming released in 1961, which in turn was based on an unrealised film treatment which Fleming had worked on with scriptwriter Jack Whittingham and film producer Kevin McClory between 1958-1960. The novel Thunderball was subject to a famous copyright dispute in 1961, when Whittingham and McClory took action against Fleming for not crediting them in the novel.

• A carbon copy from Ian Fleming’s office of the annex to a second draft film treatment written

by Fleming entitled “James Bond of the Secret Service”, in which the character of James Bond is outlined in tremendous detail, describing Bond as “… a blunt instrument wielded by a Government Department. He is quiet, hard, ruthless, sardonic, fatalistic. Audiences will tend to dislike him…

In his relationship with women he shows the same qualities as he does in his job. He likes gambling, golf and fast motor cars. He has two suits, single breasted… His guns are a Barreta (sic)… He also uses a Smith & Wesson. His car is an open Bentley…”

• Hand-drawn and hand-coloured watercolours by costume artist Gerald Moulin for the costume designs for ‘Commander James Bond’ in full Naval Commander dress (Tomorrow Never Dies) and ‘Xenia Onatopp’ in her disguise as a French Navy helicopter pilot (Goldeneye).

• Autographed screenplay of Bond 18 (released as Tomorrow Never Dies), signed by “Bond” (Pierce Brosnan), “Carver” (Jonathan Pryce), “M” (Dame Judi Dench), “Q” (Desmond Llewellyn) and Raymond Benson who has additionally inscribed “I wrote the novelisation”.

• Stunt co-ordinator Gerard Moreno’s copy of a production-used shooting script of License Revoked (released as License to Kill in 1988 – after a survey showed that 50% of Americans did not understand the term “revoked”).

• An original vintage studio-issued press pack, issued by Warner Brothers in 1983 for the film Never Say Never Again. The pack contains cast and credit sheets, production information, biographies of the main characters as well as a full set of 17 black and white publicity stills housed in a colour-printed card folder.

• A signed original concept drawing by production designer Syd Cain, illustrating a scene from GoldenEye featuring the Russian train, as seen near the end of the film, when the officers take off in the helicopter, leaving James Bond and Natalya Simonova to perish in a fiery train explosion. Sydney B. Cain’s career in the film business spanned some fifty years and he remains best known for his work in various design capacities on the 007 series, from Dr. No (1962) to GoldenEye (1995).

Highlights from the collection of James Bond film scripts will be jointly exhibited by Peter Harrington and Adrian Harrington Rare Books at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair taking place at Park Avenue Armory, New York from April 21-24, 2022. For more information, visit Peter Harrington at Stand B15 or Adrian Harrington Rare Books at Stand B18.

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/james-bond-screenplays-scripts-more-offer-nyantiquarian-book-fair

APRIL 4, 2022

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair | Hundreds Of Exhibitors Come Together

By Olivia Novato

With nearly 200 exhibitors presenting everything from rare books and fine bindings to manuscripts and maps, this year’s Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, sponsored by Sanford L. Smith + Associates, boasts a wide variety of material across all genres and subjects. https://flaunt.com/content/ny-international-antiquarian-book-fair

Whether you can spend hours flipping through page after page on decadent fashion and famed art, or if you skew more towards traditional science and medicine, the NYIABF’s extensive collection of curated and authentic items is sure to provide collectors with a special fair experience.

The fair, which is universally recognized as the top antiquarian book fair in the world, will run from April 21st to the 24th at the Park Avenue Armory. https://flaunt.com/content/ny-international-antiquarian-book-fair

APRIL 23, 2022

Tiny Bronte book, unseen for a century, goes on sale in New York Smaller than a playing card, the 15-page manuscript dated 1829 is a collection of ten unpublished poems written by a 13-yearold Charlotte Bronte and was last seen in public in November 1916

By AFP

Titled "A Book of Ryhmes (sic) by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself," the volume is handstitched in its original brown paper covers. (Credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/ AFP)

New York, United States: A miniature book of poems written by a 13-year-old Charlotte Bronte was unveiled in New York on Thursday after more than a century hidden away.

Smaller than a playing card, the 15-page manuscript dated 1829 is a collection of ten unpublished poems.

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

Titled "A Book of Ryhmes (sic) by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself," the volume is hand-stitched in its original brown paper covers. It is the last of more than two dozen miniature works created by the "Jane Eyre" novelist known to remain in private hands.

The book hasn't been seen in public since November 1916, when it sold at auction in New York City for $520.

Now it is us up for sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, with an asking price of $1.25 million. The fair opened Thursday and runs until Sunday. The existence of the handwritten "A Book of Ryhmes" has long been known to scholars, having been mentioned in Elizabeth Gaskell's 1857 biography of Bronte. But the poems themselves, whose titles include "The Beauty of Nature," "Songs of an Exile" and "On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel" have never published.

Raised in relative isolation in the moorland village of Haworth in Yorkshire, England, Bronte and her younger sisters Emily and Anne entertained themselves by weaving intricate stories set in a sophisticated imaginary world. Their imaginations spawned novels hailed as classics of English literature, including Charlotte's "Jane Eyre," Emily's "Wuthering Heights" and Anne's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall."

Like many female writers of the time, they originally published their works under male pseudonyms. At the start of "A Book of Rhymes," or "Ryhmes" as Bronte spelled it, she writes: "The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best."

'Extremely fragile' She also refers to the imaginary world that the Bronte sisters created along with their brother Branwell. "This book is written by myself but I pretend that the Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley in the Young Men's World have written one like it," she wrote.

The miniature volumes remained in the family until the 1890s, when they began to be sold to collectors in Britain and America. More than 100 years later they continue to garner great interest.

In November 2019, a Charlotte Bronte miniature manuscript, an issue of her "Young Men's Magazine," sold for 780,000 euros ($850,000). In December last year, a group of British libraries and museums purchased a collection of books and manuscripts, including seven of Charlotte's miniatures for £15 million ($19.5 million).

New York-based James Cummins Bookseller is selling "A Book of Ryhmes" in partnership with London rare books firm Maggs Bros. They are doing so on behalf of an anonymous seller "who wishes to make certain of the work's future preservation," they said in a press release. Henry Wessells of James Cummins told AFP the private owner had found the manuscript " in an envelope tucked into a book." "It's smaller than a business card, extremely fragile," he said.

"It's wonderful to look at it inside and soon the world will be able to see it," Wessells added.

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

MARCH 30, 2022

By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns To New York This April

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR

Old book lovers, get excited. The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is back in New York for its 62nd annual event this spring. And instead of buying an NFT, here you can pick up an actual, one of a kind, paper book!

The event will take place at the Park Avenue Armory from April 21 - 24 and showcase books from the pre-Gutenberg era all the way up through contemporary titles.

This year’s NYIABF will showcase nearly 200 exhibitors from around the world. The fair organizers are working closely with international dealers to ensure a seamless return to the States https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2022/03/30/new-york-international-antiquarian-bookfair-returns-to-new-york-this-april/?sh=504c794e47fd

and will welcome exhibitors from 14 different countries. An impressive number of US exhibitors highlight the incredible wealth of material available stateside. Exhibitors will present a vast trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera.

First Edition of Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead"; Inscribed by her to Jack Warner NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR

Several of the 2022 exhibitors have participated in the NYIABF since it began. The event will also welcome nineteen new exhibitors including Auger Down Books, Autographes des Siècles, Brenner's Books - Rare & Collectable, Bull's Head Rare Books LLC, Cleveland Book Company, Daniel / Oliver Gallery, Evening Star Books, First Edition Rare Books, LLC, Johnson Rare Books, Le Bookiniste, Le Zograscope, Liberty Book Store, lizzyoung bookseller, Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books Ltd, studio montespec chio di jan van der donk, Temple Rare Books, Voewood Rare Books and William Chrisant & Sons.

The fair’s range from art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual—to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics—the fair boasts offerings in every genre and subject.

In recent years, NYIABF has notably captured the attention of young collectors seeking one-of-akind offerings at more accessible price points. Prices range from $50 to millions.

Tickets to the are $60 for the first day preview, which includes one daily re-admission, $30 for daily admission and $10 for students with valid ID. https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissakravitz/2022/03/30/new-york-international-antiquarian-bookfair-returns-to-new-york-this-april/?sh=504c794e47fd

APRIL 4, 2022

Un manuscris al lui Charlotte Brontë este scos la vânzare pentru 1,25 milioane de dolari

By Doru Iftime

Un manuscris miniatural, realizat de Charlotte Brontë pe când avea 13 ani, va fi scos la vânzare la un târg al cărții clasice organizat luna aceasta la New York.

Manuscrisul are titlul “A Book of Ryhmes by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself” („O carte în versuri de Charlotte Brontë, vândută de Nimeni și publicată de Ea însăși).

Lucrarea are dimensiunile unei cărți de joc și conține 15 poeme scrise de tânăra Charlotte.

Manuscrisul este datat decembrie 1829 și nu a mai fost văzut în public din 1916, când a fost vândut prima dată. Prețiosul obiect a fost descoperit recent într-o colecție privată și se află acum în posesia anticarilor de la James Cummins, organizatorul vânzării care va avea loc pe 21 aprilie, la International Antiquarian Book Fair în New York.

https://www.forbes.ro/un-manuscris-al-lui-charlotte-bronte-este-scos-la-vanzare-pentru125-milioane-de-dolari-255553

Cele 15 pagini sunt cusute între coperți din hârtie maro și, potrivit comunicatului dat publicității de librar, relatează povești din „sofisticata lume imaginară a surorilor Brontë. Cu o caligrafie care imită caracterele tipografice, surorile au scris cărți de aventură, drame și versuri în manuscrise care imită cărțile tipărite.” Charlotte a fost cea mai mare dintre surorile Brontë și este autoarea romanului „Jane Eyre”, apărut în 1847. Sora ei, Emily, a scris un alt clasic la literaturii engleze, „Pe aripile vântului”, de asemenea publicat în 1847, împreună cu „Anne Grey”, romanul celei mai tinere dintre surorile Brontë, Anne. Cele trei surori au avut un destin tragic: Anne s-a stins la 29 de ani, Emily la 30 de ani, iar Charlotte la 38 de ani, în urma unor complicații apărute la naștere.

Un manuscris miniatural asemănător, având-o ca autoare pe Charlotte Brontë pe când aceasta avea 14 ani, a fost vândut în 2011, cu 1,07 milioane de dolari, după ce două muzee și l-au disputat la licitație.

https://www.forbes.ro/un-manuscris-al-lui-charlotte-bronte-este-scos-la-vanzare-pentru125-milioane-de-dolari-255553

APRIL 20, 2022

‘Earthrise’ Is For Sale. Historic First Photo Of Earth From The Moon Could Fetch $200,000

By Jamie Carter

"Earthrise" (The First Photo of the Earth from the Moon), a superlative example of one of mankind's ... [+] COURTESY OF BARRY RUDERMAN ANTIQUE MAPS INC. WWW.RAREMAPS.COM

One of the most famous photographs ever taken well this weekend go up for sale at the book fair in New York City, and it's predicted to sell for up to $200,000.

At the 62nd New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) at the Park Avenue Armory from April 21- 24, 2022 will be Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps, which is bringing along a particularly rare kind of “Earthrise.” “Earthrise” is often thought to be an image https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/04/20/earthrise-is-for-sale-historicfirst-photo-of-earth-from-the-moon-goes-on-sale-this-weekend-in-new-york-and-could-fetch200000/?sh=2a656ac11b2d

taken by astronaut William Anders aboard the Apollo 8 spacecraft on December 24, 1968 as it orbited the Moon.

That was the first photograph taken by a human of Earth from the Moon, but it wasn’t actually the first “Earthrise” image ever taken. That honor goes to one taken by the Lunar Orbiter 1 probe on August 23, 1966—the first image of Earth from the Moon (and the first picture of both Earth and the Moon from space). It was greeted by the headline “Historic first photo of Earth from deep space.” It’s a framed original of that image that will be at NYIABF this weekend.

The original caption of the famous "Earthrise" image.

COURTESY OF BARRY RUDERMAN ANTIQUE MAPS INC. WWW.RAREMAPS.COM

“This photo is massively important to both the history of human endeavor, and to our understanding of our home planet’s place in the Universe,” said Alex Clausen, President and CEO of Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps. “Today, collector interest in space-related photographic materials has increased substantially, with Earthrise images seen as the most desirable of all space photographs.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/04/20/earthrise-is-for-sale-historicfirst-photo-of-earth-from-the-moon-goes-on-sale-this-weekend-in-new-york-and-could-fetch200000/?sh=2a656ac11b2d

APRIL 25, 2022

Charlotte Brontë’s Rare Childhood Poetry Booklet Will Return Home After Selling For $1.25 Million

By Carlie Porterfield TOPLINE A tiny book of poetry written by English novelist Charlotte Brontë when she was only 13 years old has been donated to a museum in the childhood home she shared with her two sisters—who were also authors—after the booklet sold for $1.25 million last week.

Principal curator Ann Dinsdale holds a rare “little book” written by Charlotte Brontë that was purchased by the Brontë Parsonage Museum in 2019. The museum announced Monday the donation of another poetry booklet worth $1.2 million. PA IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES

KEY FACTS •

The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, England—a village about 20 miles west of Leeds—announced Monday that the booklet had been donated to the museum by the Friends of the National Libraries, a British nonprofit that helps cultural institutions acquire rare books, manuscripts and other literature. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/04/25/charlotte-bronts-rarechildhood-poetry-booklet-will-return-home-after-selling-for-125-million/?sh=649b9156759f

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The FLA purchased the booklet for $1.25 million at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair last week after raising the seven-figure price tag in less than two weeks following the announcement of the poetry book’s sale.

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“A Book of Rhymes” is the last of more than two dozen miniature handwritten poetry books by the oldest Brontë sister to remain in a private collection and contains ten previously unpublished poems in a 15-page booklet smaller than a playing card.

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The booklet hadn’t been seen in public in more than a century since it sold at a 1916 New York auction for $520, about $13,000 today, until it went up for sale last week at the New York book fair (the seller is anonymous, but has been described as an American collector).

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The Brontë Parsonage Museum has the largest collection of the Brontë sisters’ manuscripts in the world, including nine of Charlotte’s miniature poetry books, with seven more on the way from the $20 million Blavatnik Honresfield Library sale last year, for which the FNL also helped raise funds.

CRUCIAL QUOTE “It is always emotional when an item belonging to the Brontë family is returned home, and this final little book coming back to the place it was written when it had been thought lost is very special for us,” said Ann Dinsdale, the Brontë Parsonage Museum’s principal curator, in a statement.

KEY BACKGROUND Brontë was a novelist and poet who grew up in 19th-century England in a literary family. Her father, Patrick Brontë, was a priest and author who eventually settled with his family in clergy housing in Haworth, where the Brontë sisters wrote most of their work and that now houses the Brontë Parsonage Museum. The surrounding area’s haunting moorlands influenced the sisters’ writing. Charlotte is best remembered for her second novel, Jane Eyre, which was published in 1847. Her two younger sisters who survived childhood were also published authors. The middle daughter Emily’s book Wuthering Heights is a classic of English literature, while youngest daughter Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is considered by some scholars to be among the first feminist novels ever published.

TANGENT Manuscripts and memorabilia related to the Brontë sisters’ life and work are very popular at auction. In 2019, the Brontë Parsonage Museum paid $777,000 for another of Charlotte’s miniature poetry booklets. In December, the FNL helped eight British cultural institutions jointly purchase the $20 million Blavatnik Honresfield Library collection, which includes rare Brontë manuscripts and works from other notable British authors like Jane Austen, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/04/25/charlotte-bronts-rarechildhood-poetry-booklet-will-return-home-after-selling-for-125-million/?sh=649b9156759f

APRIL 3, 2022

Fabric From Dress Allegedly Worn When President Lincoln Was Assassinated Up For Sale

By Cortney Moore

Image courtesy of Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc. / Chicago, IL

A blood-stained fabric swatch that’s said to come from a dress worn at the time of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination is going up for sale. The small rectangular strip reportedly belonged to actress Laura Keene, who starred in an onstage production of "Our American Cousin" at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the day of Lincoln’s assassination, April 14, 1865. Fast-forward 157 years — and the swatch is going to be sold at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The fair is scheduled to run April 21-April 25 at the NYC Park Avenue Armory. "Where the rest of the dress is, no one knows. It disappeared someplace," said Daniel R. Weinberg, owner of Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc., in Chicago, during a phone interview with FOX Business. https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/fabric-dress-president-lincoln-assassinated-sale

Weinberg noted that he’s come across and has handled four other fabric swatches from the same dress during his 50-year tenure with the bookshop. "These fragments, these cuttings remain, and it puts you right there," Weinberg said. "This one — although it was the smallest of those that I've had — it seems to be the most impressive to me because I think it was very close to the wound Lincoln had." He continued, "The other pieces I had — there was not a lot of blood. This one is the darkest that I've seen."

Keene reportedly raced up to Lincoln’s box in the theater after he was shot and cradled his head, according to multiple historians who have documented the assassination. Weinberg told FOX Business that the fabric swatch’s pattern matches the dress cutting that Keene donated to the state of Illinois. The cutting has been displayed at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. The current swatch made its way to Weinberg decades ago from a male collector who died. It’s accompanied by a handwritten note that reportedly came from Keene — and was signed over to an unnamed gentleman.

Image courtesy of Stapleton Collection/Corbis via Getty Images / Getty Images

"The family did not know where he had gotten it," Weinberg said. Weinberg hopes to sell the swatch for $125,000 at his booth during the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The swatch will come with a collection of historical artifacts from the play, including photos, letters and leaflets. "I think it's going to find a home because Lincoln is very hot right now anyway, as he always is," Weinberg said. At previous fairs, Weinberg exhibited a rare autograph book that included letters from Lincoln and members of his cabinet, as well as a "Lincoln Mourning Fan" from 1866, which was displayed at the World’s Fair in Paris a year after the assassination.

"Collectors are important to keeping history alive," Weinberg said. "Collectors are embedded in their communities, and they have these artifacts from history, and relics like this or artifacts — and they show [them] at historical societies or libraries in their town." He continued, "They take [their artifact] to schools and show it off and tell the stories to people who might not know history because [the] humanities aren't being taught these days." "So," added Weinberg, "it's the collectors who are really keeping history and the humanities alive." https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/fabric-dress-president-lincoln-assassinated-sale

APRIL 4, 2022

Fabric From Dress Allegedly Worn When President Lincoln Was Assassinated Up For Sale

By Cortney Moore

Photo by Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

NEW YORK - A blood-stained fabric swatch that’s said to come from a dress worn at the time of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination is going up for sale. The small rectangular strip reportedly belonged to actress Laura Keene, who starred in an onstage production of "Our American Cousin" at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the day of Lincoln’s assassination, April 14, 1865. Fast-forward 157 years — and the swatch is going to be sold at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The fair is scheduled to run from April 21-April 25 at the NYC Park Avenue Armory.

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/fabric-from-dress-allegedly-worn-when-president-lincolnwas-assassinated-up-for-sale

"Where the rest of the dress is, no one knows. It disappeared someplace," said Daniel R. Weinberg, owner of Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc., in Chicago, during a phone interview with FOX Business. Weinberg noted that he’s come across and has handled four other fabric swatches from the same dress during his 50-year tenure with the bookshop. "These fragments, these cuttings remain, and it puts you right there," Weinberg said.

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

"This one — although it was the smallest of those that I've had — it seems to be the most impressive to me because I think it was very close to the wound Lincoln had."

He continued, "The other pieces I had — there was not a lot of blood. This one is the darkest that I've seen." Keene reportedly raced up to Lincoln’s box in the theater after he was shot and cradled his head, according to multiple historians who have documented the assassination.

Weinberg told FOX Business that the fabric swatch’s pattern matches the dress cutting that Keene donated to the state of Illinois.

The cutting has been displayed at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. The current swatch made its way to Weinberg decades ago from a male collector who died. It’s accompanied by a handwritten note that reportedly came from Keene — and was signed over to an unnamed gentleman. "The family did not know where he had gotten it," Weinberg said.

Weinberg hopes to sell the swatch for $125,000 at his booth during the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The swatch will come with a collection of historical artifacts from the play, including photos, letters and leaflets. "I think it's going to find a home because Lincoln is very hot right now anyway, as he always is," Weinberg said.

At previous fairs, Weinberg exhibited a rare autograph book that included letters from Lincoln and members of his cabinet, as well as a "Lincoln Mourning Fan" from 1866, which was displayed at the World’s Fair in Paris a year after the assassination. "Collectors are important to keeping history alive," Weinberg said. "Collectors are embedded in their communities, and they have these artifacts from history, and relics like this or artifacts — and they show [them] at historical societies or libraries in their town." https://www.fox5ny.com/news/fabric-from-dress-allegedly-worn-when-president-lincolnwas-assassinated-up-for-sale

He continued, "They take [their artifact] to schools and show it off and tell the stories to people who might not know history because [the] humanities aren't being taught these days."

"So," added Weinberg, "it's the collectors who are really keeping history and the humanities alive."

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/fabric-from-dress-allegedly-worn-when-president-lincolnwas-assassinated-up-for-sale

APRIL 4, 2022

Fabric From Dress Allegedly Worn When President Lincoln Was Assassinated Up For Sale

By Cortney Moore

Photo by Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

NEW YORK - A blood-stained fabric swatch that’s said to come from a dress worn at the time of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination is going up for sale. The small rectangular strip reportedly belonged to actress Laura Keene, who starred in an onstage production of "Our American Cousin" at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the day of Lincoln’s assassination, April 14, 1865. Fast-forward 157 years — and the swatch is going to be sold at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The fair is scheduled to run from April 21-April 25 at the NYC Park Avenue Armory.

https://www.fox9.com/news/fabric-from-dress-allegedly-worn-when-president-lincoln-wasassassinated-up-for-sale

"Where the rest of the dress is, no one knows. It disappeared someplace," said Daniel R. Weinberg, owner of Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc., in Chicago, during a phone interview with FOX Business. Weinberg noted that he’s come across and has handled four other fabric swatches from the same dress during his 50-year tenure with the bookshop. "These fragments, these cuttings remain, and it puts you right there," Weinberg said.

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

"This one — although it was the smallest of those that I've had — it seems to be the most impressive to me because I think it was very close to the wound Lincoln had."

He continued, "The other pieces I had — there was not a lot of blood. This one is the darkest that I've seen." Keene reportedly raced up to Lincoln’s box in the theater after he was shot and cradled his head, according to multiple historians who have documented the assassination.

Weinberg told FOX Business that the fabric swatch’s pattern matches the dress cutting that Keene donated to the state of Illinois.

The cutting has been displayed at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. The current swatch made its way to Weinberg decades ago from a male collector who died. It’s accompanied by a handwritten note that reportedly came from Keene — and was signed over to an unnamed gentleman. "The family did not know where he had gotten it," Weinberg said.

Weinberg hopes to sell the swatch for $125,000 at his booth during the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The swatch will come with a collection of historical artifacts from the play, including photos, letters and leaflets. "I think it's going to find a home because Lincoln is very hot right now anyway, as he always is," Weinberg said.

At previous fairs, Weinberg exhibited a rare autograph book that included letters from Lincoln and members of his cabinet, as well as a "Lincoln Mourning Fan" from 1866, which was displayed at the World’s Fair in Paris a year after the assassination. "Collectors are important to keeping history alive," Weinberg said. "Collectors are embedded in their communities, and they have these artifacts from history, and relics like this or artifacts — and they show [them] at historical societies or libraries in their town." https://www.fox9.com/news/fabric-from-dress-allegedly-worn-when-president-lincoln-wasassassinated-up-for-sale

He continued, "They take [their artifact] to schools and show it off and tell the stories to people who might not know history because [the] humanities aren't being taught these days."

"So," added Weinberg, "it's the collectors who are really keeping history and the humanities alive."

https://www.fox9.com/news/fabric-from-dress-allegedly-worn-when-president-lincoln-wasassassinated-up-for-sale

APRIL 4, 2022

Fabric From Dress Allegedly Worn When President Lincoln Was Assassinated Up For Sale

By Cortney Moore

Photo by Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

NEW YORK - A blood-stained fabric swatch that’s said to come from a dress worn at the time of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination is going up for sale. The small rectangular strip reportedly belonged to actress Laura Keene, who starred in an onstage production of "Our American Cousin" at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the day of Lincoln’s assassination, April 14, 1865. Fast-forward 157 years — and the swatch is going to be sold at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The fair is scheduled to run from April 21-April 25 at the NYC Park Avenue Armory.

"Where the rest of the dress is, no one knows. It disappeared someplace," said Daniel R. Weinberg, owner of Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc., in Chicago, during a phone interview with FOX Business. Weinberg noted that he’s come across and has handled four other fabric swatches from the same dress during his 50-year tenure with the bookshop. "These fragments, these cuttings remain, and it puts you right there," Weinberg said. https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/fabric-from-dress-allegedly-worn-when-presidentlincoln-was-assassinated-up-for-sale

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

"This one — although it was the smallest of those that I've had — it seems to be the most impressive to me because I think it was very close to the wound Lincoln had."

He continued, "The other pieces I had — there was not a lot of blood. This one is the darkest that I've seen." Keene reportedly raced up to Lincoln’s box in the theater after he was shot and cradled his head, according to multiple historians who have documented the assassination.

Weinberg told FOX Business that the fabric swatch’s pattern matches the dress cutting that Keene donated to the state of Illinois.

The cutting has been displayed at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. The current swatch made its way to Weinberg decades ago from a male collector who died. It’s accompanied by a handwritten note that reportedly came from Keene — and was signed over to an unnamed gentleman. "The family did not know where he had gotten it," Weinberg said.

Weinberg hopes to sell the swatch for $125,000 at his booth during the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The swatch will come with a collection of historical artifacts from the play, including photos, letters and leaflets. "I think it's going to find a home because Lincoln is very hot right now anyway, as he always is," Weinberg said.

At previous fairs, Weinberg exhibited a rare autograph book that included letters from Lincoln and members of his cabinet, as well as a "Lincoln Mourning Fan" from 1866, which was displayed at the World’s Fair in Paris a year after the assassination. "Collectors are important to keeping history alive," Weinberg said. "Collectors are embedded in their communities, and they have these artifacts from history, and relics like this or artifacts — and they show [them] at historical societies or libraries in their town."

He continued, "They take [their artifact] to schools and show it off and tell the stories to people who might not know history because [the] humanities aren't being taught these days."

"So," added Weinberg, "it's the collectors who are really keeping history and the humanities alive."

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/fabric-from-dress-allegedly-worn-when-presidentlincoln-was-assassinated-up-for-sale

APRIL 21, 2022

Tiny Bronte book, unseen for a century, goes on sale in New York

A miniature of the unpublished manuscript titled “A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself" written by English novelist and poet Charlotte Bronte on display at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair in New York City on April 21, 2022 TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP

New York (AFP) – A miniature book of poems written by a 13-year-old Charlotte Bronte was unveiled in New York on Thursday after more than a century hidden away.

Smaller than a playing card, the 15-page manuscript dated 1829 is a collection of ten unpublished poems. Titled "A Book of Ryhmes (sic) by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself," the volume is hand-stitched in its original brown paper covers.

It is the last of more than two dozen miniature works created by the "Jane Eyre" novelist known to remain in private hands. The book hasn't been seen in public since November 1916, when it sold at auction in New York City for $520. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220421-tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-centurygoes-on-sale-in-new-york-1

Now it is us up for sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, with an asking price of $1.25 million. The fair opened Thursday and runs until Sunday. The existence of the handwritten "A Book of Ryhmes" has long been known to scholars, having been mentioned in Elizabeth Gaskell's 1857 biography of Bronte. But the poems themselves, whose titles include "The Beauty of Nature," "Songs of an Exile" and "On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel" have never published.

Raised in relative isolation in the moorland village of Haworth in Yorkshire, England, Bronte and her younger sisters Emily and Anne entertained themselves by weaving intricate stories set in a sophisticated imaginary world. Their imaginations spawned novels hailed as classics of English literature, including Charlotte's "Jane Eyre," Emily's "Wuthering Heights" and Anne's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall."

Like many female writers of the time, they originally published their works under male pseudonyms. At the start of "A Book of Rhymes," or "Ryhmes" as Bronte spelled it, she writes: "The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best."

'Extremely fragile' She also refers to the imaginary world that the Bronte sisters created along with their brother Branwell. "This book is written by myself but I pretend that the Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley in the Young Men's World have written one like it," she wrote. The miniature volumes remained in the family until the 1890s, when they began to be sold to collectors in Britain and America. More than 100 years later they continue to garner great interest.

In November 2019, a Charlotte Bronte miniature manuscript, an issue of her "Young Men's Magazine," sold for 780,000 euros ($850,000). In December last year, a group of British libraries and museums purchased a collection of books and manuscripts, including seven of Charlotte's miniatures for £15 million ($19.5 million). New York-based James Cummins Bookseller is selling "A Book of Ryhmes" in partnership with London rare books firm Maggs Bros. They are doing so on behalf of an anonymous seller "who wishes to make certain of the work's future preservation," they said in a press release.

Henry Wessells of James Cummins told AFP the private owner had found the manuscript " in an envelope tucked into a book." "It's smaller than a business card, extremely fragile," he said. "It's wonderful to look at it inside and soon the world will be able to see it," Wessells added.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220421-tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-centurygoes-on-sale-in-new-york-1

APRIL 22, 2022

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Marries Art with Rare Tomes he venerable event’s most art-heavy edition exhibits the finest examples of printed media, from first editions to screen prints

By Osman Can Yerebakan

Dali book and portfolio PHOTO: COURTESY OF LUCIUS BOOKS

One of the most established global rare-book exhibitions, the 65-year-old New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is a must-visit occurrence for book and print collectors. What makes the event exceptional is the way it flips the rules of a typical art and antique fair. “Rare books, manuscripts, and archival ephemera always make up a niche in an art fair, a small portion of the offerings between paintings and sculptures,” says Sunday Steinkirchner, the Vice-Chair of the ABAA Mid-Atlantic Chapter and also the fair’s Chair. “But with us, the dynamic is the opposite— art compliments the big world of books and prints.” https://galeriemagazine.com/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-marries-art-raretomes/

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOHNSON RARE BOOKS & ARCHIVES

Held at the Park Avenue Armory almost since its inception, the venue is the ideal setting to flip through a first edition of Ian Fleming’s James Bond classic Casino Royale, inspect original screen prints by Louise Nevelson, or view a sketch by Modigliani. After pandemic-related postponements, NYIABF’s 62nd edition, open through April 24, welcomes around 185 exhibitors from 14 countries at the Gothic Revival venue’s soaring Drill Hall. “The space matches the fair’s gravitas—the Armory is really the only place that makes sense for us,” Steinkirchner tells Galerie.

https://galeriemagazine.com/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-marries-art-raretomes/

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF RAPTIS RARE BOOKS

Guests, sans gloves, are invited to discover numerous first editions by the pillars of the literary canon, ancient manuscripts, and prints by the likes of Salvador Dalì, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Diego Rivera, or Sol LeWitt. (“Pages are more likely to be torn with gloves,” Steinkirchner explains.) While the printed matter on view includes a 1892-dated map of China and an illustrated Yiddish children’s book, this year’s edition marks the widest selection of artworks in the fair’s history, and a few surprising mergers of art and books are among the true gems. Take, for example, an early edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses illustrated by Matisse, or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with drawings by Dalì.

With the attendees stomping the aisles in flamboyant fashions, filling each other in on their most exciting finds, the fair’s social scene, particularly its vernissage, is as pleasing as the displays of rare printed media. The pandemic might have induced an unprecedented stigma around physical contact and normalized the concept of online fairs and cyber collecting but for collectors of rare books, tactility and immediacy are irreplaceable qualities, especially in today’s landscape of Kindles and audio books. “We find that a growing number of book enthusiasts are gravitating towards rare books, manuscripts, and archival materials,” says Steinkirchner.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JAMES CUMMINS BOOKSELLER

PHOTO: COURTESY OF IMPERIAL FINE BOOKS

https://galeriemagazine.com/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-marries-art-raretomes/

Attendees at Thursday’s opening night may have also spotted curators at influential institutions, like the New York Public Library or Columbia University, roaming the aisles alongside the libraries’ donors. The sightings are due to a 20-year-old program that NYABF has revived this year to encourage a wider entry of books and manuscripts into academic collections. Each curator made a wishlist and brought their patrons to acquire items from their lists for their collections.

With participation by more than 20 curators, who listed more than 100 items, the pairing let collectors contribute to the legacy of printed media while delving deeper into the bountiful world of antique books and archives.

ABAA’s 62nd annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is open through April 24 at the Park Avenue Armory.

https://galeriemagazine.com/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-marries-art-raretomes/

APRIL 3, 2022

Charlotte Brontë’s Tiny Book Is Up For Sale

By Tammy Moir

What once was mysteriously lost, has now been found. A 15-page miniature book, A Book of Rhymes penned by Charlotte Brontë has resurfaced and will go up for sale.

The tiny books created by Charlotte Brontë and her siblings as children have long been coveted

by Brontë aficionados. Originally created to entertain their toy soldiers, the tiny books — only a few centimetres in size and made from wallpaper and old sugar bags — hold all the markings of the creativity to be found in later classics like Jane Eyre. This minuscule edition will appear at the ABAA Antiquarian Book Fair in New York later this month. Its sale price: an incredible $1.25 million USD. Charlotte Brontë was only ten years old when she created the tiny work, A Book of Rhymes, which contains 10 poems. The titles include The Beauty of Nature and On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel have been previously transcribed by Elizabeth Gaskell in her 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë. Other than the titles in the biography, the poems themselves have never before been published, and it looks like they might stay that way at least for a little bit longer — depending on what the new owner decides post-auction of the book. https://happymag.tv/charlotte-bronte-a-book-of-rhymes/

APRIL 14, 2022

Amy Winehouse’s much-loved book collection goes on display

By Tammy Moir

Credit: Irish Times

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair will be showing 50 books from Amy Winehouse’s personal library collection in an upcoming exhibition in New York.

Have you always wanted to see the books that Amy Winehouse read in her downtime? Well, now you can. A collection of books that Winehouse loved, read, and re-read – going by the wellthumbed pages of some of the books – is going on display at The New York Antiquarian Book Fair this April. From JD Salinger to Jackie Collins, Amy Winehouse gathered an eclectic and varied book collection.

https://happymag.tv/amy-winehouse-book-collection/

Credit: Type Punch Matrix

A self-confessed avid and passionate reader, who liked the sauciness of a Jackie Collins book as much as she did the literary realist stylings of Dostoevsky, Winehouse says she always had a book on the go at any given time, especially when she was on the road.

In a 2007 interview, she told The Guardian “I never travel without a good book. I read a lot when I’m traveling and always have a couple of books on the go. I read all sorts of stuff, but this week I bought an anthology of graphic fiction because I love graphic novels and cartoons, and another copy of Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold – a great novel. I also bought Alexei Sayle’s Barcelona Plates, which I’m looking forward to reading. I could spend a lot of time in bookshops just browsing.”

If you’re interested in checking out the late singer’s collection, you can view a selection of her books at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, where the rare book company Type Punch Matrix who purchased the majority of the books, will have 50, of the 220 that they acquired from Winehouse’s estate on display.

Type Punch Matrix said they had a fight on their hands to keep the collection together, as they came up for sale in separate lots. Co-founder of Type Punch Matrix, Rebecca Romney commented “This was a collection that deserved, as much as possible, to stay together. Not only because they spoke biographically about Winehouse’s life, but also because they spoke to her work as an artist and as a writer.”

https://happymag.tv/amy-winehouse-book-collection/

Credit: Type Punch Matrix

Making the collection all the more special, many of the books are filled with Winehouse’s doodles, lyrics, and musings. The collection includes well-read classics, J.D. Salinger, Elmore Leonard, Jackie Collins, as well as an annotated Little Shop of Horrors script from Winehouse’s high school days, and a copy of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl with partial song lyrics penned on the inside pages. Among the books are gifts from friends (such as a photobook inscribed by Dave LaChapelle, who directed her music video for Tears Dry on Their Own). Winehouse’s beloved grandmother’s email is penned on a bookmark; the guestlist for a party is written on the last page of a book; and in another, there is an admissions stamp from one of the hospitals where Winehouse was once admitted.

Type Punch Matrix co-founder Brian Cassidy notes, “The collection offers an intimate, tender, and revealing look into the intersection of the public and private lives of one of the most indelible musical artists of the 21st century.”

Cassidy describes the close connection that Winehouse had with the collection, “Looking the books over, you could easily recognize the teenager who loved Salinger, but also the nerd who collected graphic novels, the budding vocalist studying multiple Frank Sinatra biographies, and the touring musician just looking for a good read to pass the time on the road.”

The collection will be on view at the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, April 21st-24th at the Park Avenue Armory, New York.

https://happymag.tv/amy-winehouse-book-collection/

APRIL 19, 2022

Il Curriculum Vitae originale di Alexander McQueen sarà in vendita tra pochi giorni Il CV del celebre fashion designer sarà venduto alla New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

By Di Redazione

Jemal Countess Getty Images

"Dettagli personali", "Istruzione", "Occupazione". Un curriculum vitae scritto a mano tra il 1992 e il 1993, proprio come uno qualunque, se non fosse che quello in questione è del designer britannico Alexander McQueen, colui che ha contribuito in modo esemplare alla trasformazione della moda contemporanea. Come spiega WWD, il prezioso CV scritto dall'artista all'età di ventiquattro anni proviene dalla collezione di Alexander McQueen della amica e musa del designer, Alice Smith, e sarà venduto dal 21 al 24 aprile alla New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, presso la Park Avenue Armory nell'Upper East Side. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/it/moda/tendenze/a39757557/alexander-mcqueen-cvvendita-2022/

COURTESY GETTY IMAGES

Ragazzo tormentato, figlio di un tassista e di un’insegnante, che ha scritto personalmente le sue tappe lavorative raggiunte, McQueen conclude il Master di Belle Arti in Fashion Design presso la Central Saint Martins School of Art e inizia il suo percorso professionale da Anderson and Sheppard nel 1984. All'interno dell'azienda di lusso, che produce capi d'abbigliamento per il Principe di Galles, il giovane designer acquisisce i fondamenti della sartoria su misura. Nel Alexander McQueen 1987 si unisce al team di Gieves and Hawkes, dopo appena un anno si sposta da Bermans & Nathans e nell'ottobre 1988 si trasferisce quindi dal fashion designer giapponese Koji Tatsuno come modellista. Durante i primi anni Novanta fonda la sua azienda personale e, intanto, segue altri incarichi come freelancer: il primo lo porta a Milano presso Romeo Gigli. Lì McQueen si occupa di creare nuove forme per la collezione uomo e donna del marchio italiano e, sul suo cv, specifica che taglia il tessuto utilizzando un metodo ideato in Francia nel XVI secolo ideato in Francia.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/it/moda/tendenze/a39757557/alexander-mcqueen-cvvendita-2022/

COURTESY GETTY IMAGES

Tra gli ultimi anni Novanta e i primi duemila il giovane Alexander McQueen entra nel team di Givenchy. Quello è il momento in cui il suo nome all'interno dell'industria della moda inizia ad avere successo - egli vince infatti quattro volte il premio British Designer of the Year e anche il premio come International Designer of the Year dal Council of Fashion Designers nel 2003. Negli anni, McQueen si aggiudica il titolo di enfant terrible: le sue creazioni hanno un'espressività sfrenata che dà vita a una couture britannica moderna, innovativa, anti-convenzionale. Come sottolinea nel curriculum vitae la sua ispirazione arriva dai libri di fotografia, dai film cult e d'avanguardia degli anni Sessanta e Settanta. Il CV di McQueen sarà venduto in fiera dal venditore di libri Schubertiade Music e segna il percorso creativo del designer, tragicamente scomparso all'età di quarant'anni.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/it/moda/tendenze/a39757557/alexander-mcqueen-cvvendita-2022/

APRIL 20, 2022

The Antiquarian Book Fair: From Sondheim’s Letters to a Brontë Discovery

By Admin987 The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which returns to the Park Avenue Armory this weekend after a two-year pandemic hiatus, is one of the world’s leading gatherings of the rare book tribe. For more casual visitors, it can also be an experience of dizzying information overload.

Yes, there are the museum-like displays of fine bindings, illuminated manuscripts and historic documents, with dramatic lighting (and eye-popping prices). But the fair, which runs from Thursday evening to Sunday, also features booths stuffed with pulp paperbacks, old advertisements, zines, board games, maps, photographs and all manner of accessibly priced ephemera that challenges any hidebound notions of “rare books.”

Here is a sampling of offerings at the more than 200 booths, from carefully curated libraries to jotted notes that speak to the power of pen and paper to stop time and conjure vanished worlds.

After Stephen Sondheim’s death last November, social media was awash with images of the notes he regularly sent to theater colleagues famous and not, offering praise and encouragement.

Schubertiade Music is offering range of Sondheimiana, including a collection of 70 letters and postcards ($ 20,000) written over four decades to his close friend Larry Miller. In one, Sondheim describes a 1969 trip to Europe: “In Vienna we were treated with the doubtful pleasure of one act of ‘West Side Story’ in German. Funnier than the original, anyway, even if it is billed as ‘Bernstein’s West Side Story.’ ”Also on offer are autographed programs, scores and a mid-1930s class photograph ($ 1,000) showing a young Sondheim dressed as a clown.

Remembering Stephen Sondheim The revered and influential composer-lyricist died Nov. 26, 2021. He was 91.

Atomic Dawn “Ball or mushroom rose slowly & majestically & ponderously & brilliantly – bright red purple [with] blue rim for a few seconds. So it towered up with streamers falling vertically in the stem & out of the cap. ” https://heromag.net/the-antiquarian-book-fair-from-sondheims-letters-to-a-brontediscovery

So wrote a member of the Manhattan Project’s Medical Group on July 16, 1945, after watching the world’s first detonation of a nuclear weapon, in the New Mexican desert, known as the Trinity Test. Boston Rare Maps and Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps are jointly offering a trove of 300 pages of little-seen handwritten diagrams, memos, maps and notes generated by the medical group, which was charged with monitoring health and safety. The documents ($ 1.5 million) – which include what the sellers say is the first written use of the term “mushroom cloud” – were buried in military archives at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado until the 1960s, when they were declassified and then sold to a private collector during the base’s decommissioning. The material reflects the tensions between preserving secrecy while protecting populations downwind from nuclear fallout, as well as the tension between dispassionate scientific observation and sheer awe.

A Pioneering Black Shakespearean The London dealer Maggs Bros. is offering an autographed lithograph, circa 1857, of Ira Aldridge, the first actor of African descent known to play Othello ($ 13,500). Born in 1807, Aldridge attended the African Free School of New York City and acted in William Brown’s African Theater before emigrating to England to seek better prospects. At first, he played African roles, sometimes written expressly for him. His turn as Othello came in 1832, when he stepped in after the renowned Edmund Kean collapsed onstage and died. Audiences loved it, but the critics were outraged.

Management closed the theater after two performances, and Aldridge did not appear on the mainstream London stage again for decades. The portrait, created during one of his triumphant tours of the European continent, “acknowledges his work as an artist rather than a mere curiosity,” according to the listing.

Tennis, Anyone?

Jonathan Hill Bookseller of New York is offering a rare first edition of Antonio Scaino’s 1555 treatise on tennis ($ 45,000), said to be the first book on the game. By the mid-16th century, tennis was already a popular pastime among kings and commoners alike, though bitter disputes often broke out over the rules (plus that change?). Scaino, a philosopher, apparently wrote the book after a debate with his patron, the duke of Ferrara (and the owner of as many as six courts), over how to award a point. It’s not clear who won that one, but scholars today still debate the validity of Scaino’s arcane theory of the origins of the game’s odd scoring system.

This Girl’s Life One of the stars of the fair is a miniature book created in 1829 by 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë ($ 1.25 million), which recently surfaced after being considered lost for nearly a century. But Brontë and her siblings were hardly the only word-mad British children of the era. Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers of London is offering two volumes of diaries, from 1831-2, by 11-year-old Emily Shore. The precocious Emily, who died at age 19, wrote three volumes of poetry, three novels and several histories, which went unpublished. She is known today through her diaries, which were published by her sisters in 1891 in heavily edited form. Today, only a handful of the dozen notebooks she filled her with tiny, meticulous handwriting are known to survive. The two on sale here offer an unfiltered window into the domestic life of a period where children, especially girls, were seen but rarely heard.

End-of-the-World Library?

https://heromag.net/the-antiquarian-book-fair-from-sondheims-letters-to-a-brontediscovery

The London dealer Peter Harrington spent a decade building One Hundred Seconds to Midnight, a collection of 800 works tracking more than 2,000 years of climate science and environmentalism, from Aristotle’s “Meteorology” and 19th-century weather records to NASA’s iconic “Earthrise” photograph and contemporary “cli-fi” novels. The dealer’s booth will feature highlights from the collection ($ 2.5 million), which tracks “both our recording of data and also our emotional response to it,” as a video tour of the collection puts it. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the World Land Trust.

Punk Lit! Type Punch Matrix, a Washington, DC, bookseller that aims to make collecting more accessible and diverse, is known for edgy stock that pushes the boundaries of the rare books category. Their big-ticket offerings this year include a collection of more than 220 books that once belonged to singer Amy Winehouse ($ 135,000), about 50 of which will be on display. (Among the sometimes heavily annotated titles is a marked-up script of “Little Shop of Horrors” from Winehouse’s theater-kid days, and a copy of Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” described as looking like it was dropped in the bath . ”) On a tighter budget? The dealers are also offering a pristine copy of Gideon Sams’ “The Punk” (1977), often said to be the first punk novel, written, the story goes, by a 14-year-old British “closet punk” as a school assignment, and published after his mother rescued it from the trash. It comes with the original dust jacket, featuring a real safetypin piercing the nose of the image of Johnny Rotten ($ 500).

https://heromag.net/the-antiquarian-book-fair-from-sondheims-letters-to-a-brontediscovery

APRIL 22, 2022

Unseen for a century, tiny Bronte book goes on sale in New York

Tiny treasure: A staffer shows the miniature, unpublished manuscript titled A Book of Ryhmes [sic] by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself, written by English novelist and poet Charlotte Bronte, on Thursday at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair in New York. (AFP/Timothy A. Clary)

New York (AFP) – A miniature book of poems written by a 13-year-old Charlotte Bronte was unveiled in New York on Thursday after more than a century hidden away.

Smaller than a playing card, the 15-page manuscript dated 1829 is a collection of ten unpublished poems. Titled "A Book of Ryhmes (sic) by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself," the volume is hand-stitched in its original brown paper covers.

It is the last of more than two dozen miniature works created by the "Jane Eyre" novelist known to remain in private hands. The book hasn't been seen in public since November 1916, when it sold at auction in New York City for $520.

Now it is us up for sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, with an asking price of $1.25 million. The fair opened Thursday and runs until Sunday. The existence of the handwritten "A Book of Ryhmes" has long been known to scholars, having been mentioned in Elizabeth https://www.thejakartapost.com/culture/2022/04/22/unseen-for-a-century-tiny-brontebook-goes-on-sale-in-new-york-.html

Gaskell's 1857 biography of Bronte. But the poems themselves, whose titles include "The Beauty of Nature," "Songs of an Exile" and "On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel" have never published.

Raised in relative isolation in the moorland village of Haworth in Yorkshire, England, Bronte and her younger sisters Emily and Anne entertained themselves by weaving intricate stories set in a sophisticated imaginary world. Their imaginations spawned novels hailed as classics of English literature, including Charlotte's "Jane Eyre," Emily's "Wuthering Heights" and Anne's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall."

Like many female writers of the time, they originally published their works under male pseudonyms. At the start of "A Book of Rhymes," or "Ryhmes" as Bronte spelled it, she writes: "The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best."

'Extremely fragile' She also refers to the imaginary world that the Bronte sisters created along with their brother Branwell. "This book is written by myself but I pretend that the Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley in the Young Men's World have written one like it," she wrote. The miniature volumes remained in the family until the 1890s, when they began to be sold to collectors in Britain and America. More than 100 years later they continue to garner great interest.

In November 2019, a Charlotte Bronte miniature manuscript, an issue of her "Young Men's Magazine," sold for 780,000 euros ($850,000). In December last year, a group of British libraries and museums purchased a collection of books and manuscripts, including seven of Charlotte's miniatures for £15 million ($19.5 million). New York-based James Cummins Bookseller is selling "A Book of Ryhmes" in partnership with London rare books firm Maggs Bros. They are doing so on behalf of an anonymous seller "who wishes to make certain of the work's future preservation," they said in a press release.

Henry Wessells of James Cummins told AFP the private owner had found the manuscript " in an envelope tucked into a book." "It's smaller than a business card, extremely fragile," he said. "It's wonderful to look at it inside and soon the world will be able to see it," Wessells added.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/culture/2022/04/22/unseen-for-a-century-tiny-brontebook-goes-on-sale-in-new-york-.html

APRIL 25, 2022

Brontë retrouvée

By Jade Pillaudin

L'IMAGE DU JOUR Dévoilé au public lors de la New York International Antiquarian Book Fair le jour de l’anniversaire de son autrice, le 21 avril, A Book of Rhymes de Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) possède tous les attributs du rêve de bibliophile : de la taille d'une carte à jouer, ce minuscule recueil contenant 10 poèmes sur 15 pages fut rédigé et confectionné par Brontë à l’âge de 13 ans, pour divertir les soldats de plomb avec lesquels jouaient ses deux sœurs, Anne et Emily, et son frère, Branwell, dans la maison familiale du Yorkshire. Si son existence était connue, car mentionnée dès 1857 dans une biographie d’Elizabeth Gaskell (traduite aux éditions du Rocher sous le titre Charlotte Brontë), il n’avait pas revu une salle de vente depuis 1916, acquis à l’époque pour 520 dollars.

L'ouvrage a été retrouvé par son dernier propriétaire à l'intérieur d'un livre, protégé par une enveloppe. Charlotte Brontë avait dans ses jeunes années écrit deux douzaines de petits livres poétiques, restés dans la famille jusque dans les années 1890, puis disséminés en salles des ventes et répartis chez des collectionneurs britanniques ou nord-américains.

https://www.lequotidiendelart.com/articles/21711-bront%C3%AB-retrouv%C3%A9e.html

Proposé par les enseignes new-yorkaise James Cummins Bookseller et londonienne Maggs Bros, A Book of Rhymes a été adjugé le week-end dernier à l'association anglaise Friends of the National Libraries (FNL), dont le prince Charles assure le patronage, au prix de 1,25 million de dollars (1,16 million d’euros). Cette dernière a décidé de faire don du manuscrit à la maison musée Brontë d'Haworth, où la fratrie a grandi. En décembre 2021, la FNL avait acquis la Blavatnik Honresfield Library, collection de livres et de manuscrits contenant sept miniatures de l’écrivaine, pour un montant total de 15 millions de livres (17,7 millions d’euros).

https://www.lequotidiendelart.com/articles/21711-bront%C3%AB-retrouv%C3%A9e.html

APRIL 21, 2022

The Antiquarian Book Fair: From Sondheim’s Letters to a Brontë Discovery

By Admin

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which returns to the Park Avenue Armory this weekend after a two-year pandemic hiatus, is one of the world’s leading gatherings of the rare book tribe. For more casual visitors, it can also be an experience of dizzying information overload.

Yes, there are the museum-like displays of fine bindings, illuminated manuscripts and historic documents, with dramatic lighting (and eye-popping prices). But the fair, which runs from Thursday evening to Sunday, also features booths stuffed with pulp paperbacks, old advertisements, zines, board games, maps, photographs and all manner of accessibly priced ephemera that challenges any hidebound notions of “rare books.”

Here is a sampling of offerings at the more than 200 booths, from carefully curated libraries to jotted notes that speak to the power of pen and paper to stop time and conjure vanished worlds.

https://leichtathletik-nachrichten.com/arts/the-antiquarian-book-fair-from-sondheimsletters-to-a-bronte-discovery/21511/

Send in the Sondheim Part of an archive of 70 letters and postcards written by Stephen Sondheim over four decades to his close friend Larry Miller.Credit…via Schubertiade Music After Stephen Sondheim’s death last November, social media was awash with images of the notes he regularly sent to theater colleagues famous and not, offering praise and encouragement.

Schubertiade Music is offering range of Sondheimiana, including a collection of 70 letters and postcards ($20,000) written over four decades to his close friend Larry Miller. In one, Sondheim describes a 1969 trip to Europe: “In Vienna we were treated with the doubtful pleasure of one act of ‘West Side Story’ in German. Funnier than the original, anyway, even if it is billed as ‘Bernstein’s West Side Story.’” Also on offer are autographed programs, scores and a mid-1930s class photograph ($1,000) showing a young Sondheim dressed as a clown.

Remembering Stephen Sondheim The revered and influential composer-lyricist died Nov. 26, 2021. He was 91.

• Obituary: A titan of the American musical, Sondheim was the driving force behind some of Broadway’s most beloved shows.

• Final Interview: Days before he died, he sat down with The Times for his final major interview.

• His Legacy: As a mentor, a letter writer and an audience regular, Sondheim nurtured generations of theater makers.

• ‘West Side Story’: Does the musical, which features some of the artist’s best-known lyrics, deserve a new hearing?

• ‘Company’: The revival of his 1970 musical features a gender swap.

Atomic Dawn Papers from the Manhattan Project’s Medical Group were buried in military archives at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado until the 1960s.Credit…via Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps and Boston Rare Maps “Ball or mushroom rose slowly & majestically & ponderously & brilliantly — bright red purple [with] blue rim for a few seconds. So it towered up with streamers falling vertically in the stem & out of the cap.”

So wrote a member of the Manhattan Project’s Medical Group on July 16, 1945, after watching the world’s first detonation of a nuclear weapon, in the New Mexican desert, known as the Trinity Test. Boston Rare Maps and Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps are jointly offering a trove of 300 pages of little-seen handwritten diagrams, memos, maps and notes generated by the medical group, which was charged with monitoring health and safety. The documents ($1.5 million) — which include what the sellers say is the first written use of the term “mushroom cloud” — were buried in military archives at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado until the 1960s, when they were declassified and then sold to a private collector during the base’s decommissioning. The material reflects the tensions between preserving secrecy while protecting populations downwind from nuclear fallout, as well as the tension between dispassionate scientific observation and sheer awe. https://leichtathletik-nachrichten.com/arts/the-antiquarian-book-fair-from-sondheimsletters-to-a-bronte-discovery/21511/

A Pioneering Black Shakespearean An autographed lithograph, circa 1857, of Ira Aldridge, the first actor of African descent known to play Othello.Credit…via Maggs Bros Ltd. The London dealer

https://leichtathletik-nachrichten.com/arts/the-antiquarian-book-fair-from-sondheimsletters-to-a-bronte-discovery/21511/

MARCH 31, 2022

A Tiny Charlotte Brontë Book, Long Hidden From Public View, Is Now For Sale.

By Corinne Segal

Putting all overachieving kids to shame forever, Charlotte Brontë and her siblings created a series of tiny books when they were children that have since become highly coveted—and very expensive—objects in the world of antiquarian book collection. Though many of them have landed in various high-profile libraries and museums, one disappeared from the public eye after its auction to a private collector in 1916; now, it will soon be up for sale and can be yours for a mere $1.25 million.

The book, titled “The Book of Rhymes,” contains 10 poems whose titles were transcribed by Elizabeth Gaskell and published in her 1857 biography, The Life of Charlotte Brontë. The full contents of the book have never been published.

Those in New York City will be able to see it in person on April 21, when it will be presented at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, or, for a quicker tiny-book fix, dive into what remains the greatest online literary subculture: the tiny book internet.

Happy tiny reading! https://lithub.com/a-tiny-charlotte-bronte-book-long-hidden-from-public-view-is-now-forsale/

APRIL 22, 2022

A true Bond market: Why 007 collectibles are hotter than ever From Aston Martin cars to film scripts, anything and everything tied to the famed fictional secret agent is selling

By Charles Passy

Daniel Craig, the actor who most recently played James Bond, attends the world premiere of “No Time to Die” in London on Sept. 28, 2021. GETTY IMAGES FOR EON PRODUCTIONS, METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS, AND UNIVERSAL PICTURES

When dealers and collectors gather this weekend for the 62nd annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, they are expected to buy and sell all sorts of one-of-a-kind items. Among the offerings: a first-edition copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” a rare book of poetry by E.E. Cummings and a document signed by the Indian leader Gandhi, replete with his fingerprints.

But the item that may draw the most attention is a collection of film scripts and other material tied to everyone’s favorite fictional secret agent: James Bond.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-true-bond-market-british-book-dealer-is-selling-650000-collection-of-james-bond-rarities-11650576217

Peter Harrington Rare Books, a British dealer, is offering the collection of all things Bond for 500,000 British pounds — or roughly $650,000. It includes scripts for all 20-plus Bond movies.

In some cases, only 20-25 copies of such scripts are likely to exist, said Adam Douglas, a senior specialist with Peter Harrington.

Even more intriguing: The collection also features two versions of the script for “Warhead,” a James Bond film, set partly in New York, that was never made. (Of special note: The screenplay was co-authored by Sean Connery, arguably the most celebrated of the cinematic Bonds.) Another “Warhead” item in the collection: a watercolor painting depicting a set for the would-be film.

Douglas said the collection was acquired from a Bond enthusiast who put years into assembling the material. Taken as a whole, it represents “a complete picture of how the Bond films were made,” said Douglas, noting that the collection includes items all the way through the recently concluded Daniel Craig era of 007 pictures. (Craig’s last Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” premiered in 2021.)

The collection of James Bond rarities being sold for $650,000 at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair includes scripts and artwork connected to “Warhead,” a 007 picture that was never made. COURTESY PETER HARRINGTON RARE BOOKS

Though the collection may be significant to Bond fans, it represents just one slice of the 007 collectibles market — a true Bond market, if you will. And it’s a market that has remained consistently active in recent years, according to dealers.

There’s demand not only for the film items, but also for first-edition copies of the Ian Fleming novels that inspired the movies. The books routinely sell for tens of thousands of dollars each, said Joe Maddalena, an executive vice president with Heritage Auctions, the Texas-based company that specializes in a range of collectibles.

Maddalena says Heritage will be auctioning off a particularly rare Bond item in June — the pocket notebook that Ian Fleming used as he was developing the Bond novel, “You Only Live Twice.”

He expects the item could sell for $100,000. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-true-bond-market-british-book-dealer-is-selling-650000-collection-of-james-bond-rarities-11650576217

A couple of pages from Ian Fleming’s notebook for “You Only Live Twice.” The Bond item will be sold at auction in June.

COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS

Some Bond items can even command seven-figure prices. A case in point: a restored Aston Martin car, used in the film “Goldfinger,” went for $6.4 million. Maddalena says the enduring popularity of the Bond canon is what drives the high prices. As much as filmgoers flock today to the latest Marvel movie, the 007 series dates back more than a half century and has fans across the globe.

“I can’t imagine anywhere in the world people haven’t heard of 007,” he said. Indeed, when Amazon AMZN, -0.51% recently announced that it had acquired MGM, the film studio behind the Bond pictures and countless other films, it was widely speculated that the 007 canon helped drive the deal.

As Peter Newman, a film professor and program head at New York University, told the trade publication Variety: “The reason for the acquisition seemed like they were after the big titles, the intellectual property, which of course, first and foremost, meant the James Bond franchise.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-true-bond-market-british-book-dealer-is-selling-650000-collection-of-james-bond-rarities-11650576217

APRIL 25, 2022

Charlotte Brontë's Lost Collection of Poems Resurfaces 100 Years After Vanishing—and Sells for $1.25 Million The playing-card sized manuscript contains 10 poems never before seen by the public.

By Madeline Buiano

CREDIT: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / GETTY IMAGES

Charlotte Brontë is best known for her book Jane Eyre, but before she was a well-known English novelist and poet she was a 13-year-old girl who sewed her poems into a miniature makeshift manuscript with a needle and thread. The book of Brontë's unpublished writings was lost to the public for more than a century, but it has since resurfaced and recently sold to an unknown buyer for $1.25 million. https://www.marthastewart.com/8259170/charlotte-bronte-lost-book-poems-sells-milliondollars?utm=newsbreak

James Cummins Bookseller partnered with London's Maggs Bros. for the sale, which offered the playing card-sized document on behalf of a private owner. The book of rhymes was sold at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair where it was kept on display until April 24. The sale is notable as the collection of poems was last seen publicly when it sold for $520 in New York in 1916. It was rediscovered in a private collection inside an envelope hiding in the pages of a 19th-century schoolbook, Smithsonian Magazine reports.

The 15-page book, which Brontë coined "A Book of Ryhmes [sic] by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself" contains 10 poems never before seen by the public. The manuscript dates back to December 1829 and is stitched in its original brown paper covers. Brontë gives credit for the poems to the imaginary authors "Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley," then writes that they are "actually written by me." It concludes with an apologetic inscription on the back that reads "The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best."

The creative manuscript comes as no surprise when you consider the unique imagination of its author. According to a release by the bookseller, Brontë and her siblings spent much of their youth developing a sophisticated imaginary world with a nation called Angria and a city called Glasstown whose inhabitants included the childrens' heroes. "They wrote adventure stores, dramas, and verse in hand-made manuscript books filled with tiny handwriting intended to resemble print," the release states.

The small manuscripts written by the Brontë children have since fallen into private hands, making their way into collections around the world. The Haworth Parsonage Museum, which Smithsonian Magazine says maintains the siblings' childhood home and the largest library of their work, have purchased many of the valuable manuscripts at high price-points.

https://www.marthastewart.com/8259170/charlotte-bronte-lost-book-poems-sells-milliondollars?utm=newsbreak

APRIL 4, 2022

Small Wonder: A Newly Discovered Charlotte Brontë 'Tiny Book' Could Fetch $1.25 Million

Courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller

Before Charlotte Brontë wrote her best-known work, Jane Eyre, the budding author was fond of self-publishing. As a teen, Brontë wrote and bound palm-sized books, ostensibly for the perusal of the toy soldiers Charlotte and siblings Emily, Anne, and Branwell had in their home. Now, one long believed to be lost has surfaced—and the price for reading the last of Brontë’s unseen poems could be as much as $1.25 million. New York book dealer James Cummins Bookseller has announced [PDF] that they’ve come into possession of the tiny book titled A Book of Ryhme’s [sic]. The hand-bound tome is comprised of 10 poems across 15 pages and is dated December 1829, when Brontë was 13 years old.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/charlotte-bronte-tiny-book-auction

Courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller

“The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best,” Brontë wrote. According to the bookseller’s press release, the tome has not been seen since 1916, when it sold for $520. It’s considered the last of Brontë’s manuscripts to be in private hands. The owner is remaining anonymous at their request: The asking price is $1.25 million, with the sale being handled by both Cummins and London-based Maggs Bros.

Courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller

It’s expected that whomever takes possession of the book will permit its contents to be recorded for posterity. Previous “tiny books” have wound up in the possession of institutions like the Brontë Parsonage Museum, which purchased one designed to look like a literary magazine in 2019 for nearly $800,000. A Book of Ryhme’s will be on display at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair on April 21, Brontë’s birthday.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/charlotte-bronte-tiny-book-auction

APRIL 22, 2022

New chapter CULTURE / NEW YORK Budding collectors in search of prized old publications need look no further than the 62nd New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which runs from today until Sunday at Park Avenue Armory. Some 180 exhibitors are showcasing a plethora of rare maps, books, manuscripts and other predominantly printed treasures, not to mention the Thackrey Library, which is generally considered to be the greatest privately owned collection of wine books in the US, dating back to the 16th century.

There’s also a 1925 first edition of The Great Gatsby, priced at $360,000 (€332,000) and – somewhat oddly – a small section of a dress with a blood stain from president Abraham Lincoln going for $125,000 (€115,000). “We’re thrilled and very fortunate that we are able to hold the book fair in person this year,” says Sanford Smith, founder of Sanford L Smith + Associates, which produces the fair. “While there have been successful virtual fairs, it is not the same experience as meeting the exhibitors in person and experiencing the wealth of materials available first-hand.” https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/webview?a=WEFNwV&c=01F10R5X316J789VXEZG95WX5N&k=e0bdd6414f6fd92e9048dc5a3ad75 e23&g=VsmE5L&m=QX4NTq&r=NKSAfPx

APRIL 21, 2022

THE MONOCLE DAILY Thursday 21 April

Sarah Churchwell and Robin Lustig on Ukraine’s perceptions of Germany and the UK, how to debate a (French) populist, Alex Jones’s bankruptcy and the International Antiquarian Book Fair.

Plus: Henry Rees-Sheridan’s Letter from New York.

https://monocle.com/radio/shows/the-monocle-daily/2198/

19

New York Post, Saturday, April 2, 2022

Their travel plans were shattered — but at least they lived to tell about it.

Pilots on a Delta Air Lines flight made an emergency landing in Denver Thursday when a cockpit window cracked at 35,000 feet.

The trip from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Washington, DC, was aborted with 198 passengers onboard.

Here’s one for the books.

A library tome nearly 50 years overdue was recently returned to a London library — but without late fees totaling nearly $1,700.

Librarians at University College London said the edition of the Latin-language play “Querolus’’ was sent with an accompanying letter from the borrower urging them not to toss it out since he took the “time and trouble” to return it.

A lucky Virginian beat lottery odds four times, finishing with a $100,000 jackpot.

Krystle Smith of Suffolk took home a $100 scratchoff winner weeks ago, followed by a $100 win and a $200 prize. Her lucrative run was capped off with a ticket worth $100,000.

Joshua Rhett Miller, Wires

Getty Images (2)

It’s a “members”-only festival.

Enormous penis sculptures will take center stage this weekend in Japan to raise money for HIV research.

The Kanamara Matsuri — “Festival of the Steel Phallus” — is taking place at the Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki, where tens of thousands of fans seek blessings from fertility gods and gobble up untold varieties of penis-shaped treats.

nypost.com

Justice was served!

A former Sweden Supreme Court justice must pay a fine for swiping meatballs and a ham from a Stockholm grocery store a week before Christmas.

The 67-year-old woman judge was caught trying to swipe the items, as well as sausages and cheese. She resigned in February but claimed Thursday she didn’t intend to steal the groceries. She’s now on the hook to pay a $5,400 fine.

A dress Lincoln bled on is up for sale for $125K

By KIRSTEN FLEMING It’s a bloody piece of history.

A small section of a dress bearing a dark blood stain from President Abraham Lincoln will be up for sale later this month when the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair comes to the Park Avenue Armory on April 21.

The macabre artifact has a whopping $125,000 price tag and is being sold by exhibitor Daniel R. Weinberg, owner of Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago.

“In my 50 years at [the shop] I’ve handled five blood relics,” Weinberg told The Post, adding that “the book fair occurs a mere six days after the 157th anniversary of the assassination.”

The 1.625-inch-by-0.5-inch swatch was part of a dress worn by famous actress Laura Keene. She was starring in “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, where Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, on April 14, 1865.

“This particular costume fragment, though small, carries a great

SHOW’S OVER: President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed

by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while watching the play “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. As portrayed in this Currier & Ives engraving from 1865, Lincoln was attending the play with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln; a young officer named Major Henry R. Rathbone; and Rathbone’s fiancée Clara Harris.

moment, actually having been at the scene of the crime,” Weinberg said. And it seems Keene was very much on the scene.

After Booth shot Lincoln, the English-born actress walked up to his box carrying water and, at some point, she cradled his head in her lap as Dr. Charles Leale looked for the bullet. Keene later led the way as the wounded president was carried from the theater to the Petersen boardinghouse across the street, where he died the next morning.

DIE JOB: Actress Laura Keene was performing that fateful night and cradled a dying Lincoln in her lap. A swatch (inset) of her bloodied dress will soon be up for sale.

A historic scrap According to Weinberg, most of the blood artifacts from that night are pieces of towel or pillow coverings from Petersen House and do not have the same deep coloring as the blood on Keene’s dress.

Accompanying the fabric in the sale is a note from Keene, whose friend asked for the item. It reads: “I accede to your request. Very truly yours / Laura Keene / New York / May 20th, 1865.” The weave

and design match a bloody dress swatch that is at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. This wouldn’t be the first specks of Lincoln’s vital matter to sell. In 2020, a lock of Lincoln’s hair and a blood-smeared telegram were

bought for more than $81,000 by RR Auctions. Weinberg noted that a bloody cuff with much fainter stains sold in 2008 for $93,000.

But this one is unique.

“The blood is much darker than others, indicating that it was close to the wound,” Weinberg said.

APRIL 1, 2022

Actress’ bloody dress from President Lincoln’s assassination for sale

By Kirsten Fleming

A small section of a actress Laura Keen's dress bearing a dark blood stain from President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination will be up for sale later this month. NY Post photo composite It’s a bloody piece of history.

A small section of a dress bearing a dark blood stain from President Abraham Lincoln will be up for sale later this month when the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair comes to the Park Avenue Armory on April 21. https://nypost.com/2022/04/01/bloody-dress-from-abraham-lincolns-assassination-for-sale/

The macabre artifact has a whopping $125,000 price tag, and is being sold by exhibitor Daniel R. Weinberg, owner of Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago.

“In my 50 years at [the shop] I’ve handled five blood relics,” Weinberg told The Post, adding that “the book fair occurs a mere six days after the 157th anniversary of the assassination.”

The 1.625-inch by .5-inch swatch was part of a dress worn by famous actress Laura Keene. She was starring in “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC, where Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, on April 14, 1865.

Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in DC.Heritage Images/Getty Images “This particular costume fragment, though small, carries a great moment, actually having been at the scene of the crime,” Weinberg said.

And it seems Keene was very much on the scene.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/01/bloody-dress-from-abraham-lincolns-assassination-for-sale/

Actress Laura Keene cradled Lincoln’s head in her lap, staining her dress with his blood.Corbis via Getty Images After Booth shot Lincoln, the English-born actress walked up to his box carrying water and, at some point, she cradled his head in her lap as Dr. Charles Leale looked for the bullet. Keene later led the way as the wounded president was carried from the theater to the boardinghouse Petersen House across the street, where he died the next morning.

According to Weinberg, most of the blood artifacts from that night are pieces of towel or pillow coverings from Petersen House and do not have the same deep coloring as the blood that fell onto Keene’s dress. https://nypost.com/2022/04/01/bloody-dress-from-abraham-lincolns-assassination-for-sale/

Accompanying the fabric in the sale is a note from Keene, whose friend asked for the item. It reads: “I accede to your request. Very truly yours / Laura Keene / New York / May 20th, 1865.”

The weave and design match a bloody dress swatch that is at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

The portion of Keene’s blood-soaked dress that is up for sale.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/01/bloody-dress-from-abraham-lincolns-assassination-for-sale/

This wouldn’t be the first specks of Lincoln’s vital matter to sell. In 2020, a lock of Lincoln’s hair and a blood-smeared telegram were bought for more than $81,000 by Boston-based RR Auctions. And Weinberg noted that a bloody cuff with much fainter stains sold in 2008 for $93,000 by Heritage Auctions.

But this one is unique. Weinberg said: “The blood is much darker than others, indicating that it was close to the wound.”

https://nypost.com/2022/04/01/bloody-dress-from-abraham-lincolns-assassination-for-sale/

APRIL 21, 2022

What’s in your attic? These rare books and curios are worth millions of dollars

By Dusica Sue Malesevic

Charlotte Brontë's recently rediscovered "Book of Ryhmes," which is dated December 1829, is up for auction for $1.25 million.Courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller and Maggs Bro

How much would you pay to own a piece of history? Starting today at the Park Avenue Armory, the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is once again in person after a two-year pandemic pause. Now in its 62nd year, the fair will present a trove of treasures from almost 200 exhibitors through Sunday. For a general admission of $30, you can browse and behold beautiful objets d’art, from rare books and maps to illuminated manuscripts and historical documents.

Unusual artifacts — such as a fragment of the costume worn by actress Laura Keene that has President Abraham Lincoln’s blood on it from the night he was shot at Ford’s Theatre — are also up for sale. But to do more than look costs much much more. Below, The Post looks at the five priciest pieces up for auction. https://nypost.com/2022/04/21/1-25m-bronte-book-among-rarities-for-sale-at-nyc-fair/

The Thackrey Library — $2 million

The extensive collection includes three early editions of Arnaldus de Villa Nova’s “De vinis,” which Ben Kinmont Bookseller noted was “widely considered to be the first printed book on making wine.” Above, one of the editions from 1530. Courtesy of

Ben Kinmont Bookseller

The Thackrey Library is touted as “the greatest collection of wine books and manuscripts in private hands in the United States,” according to Ben Kinmont Bookseller. It includes seminal works about the libation and how grapes were grown from the 15th century to the late 19th century, and offers a “remarkably complete picture of the culture of wine in Western civilization.” The extensive collection also includes three early editions from the 1500s of Arnaldus de Villa Nova’s “De vinis,” which Ben Kinmont Bookseller noted were “widely considered to be the first printed book on making wine.”

https://nypost.com/2022/04/21/1-25m-bronte-book-among-rarities-for-sale-at-nyc-fair/

The Manhattan Project documents — $1.5 million

Above, what may be the earliest sketch of a “mushroom cloud” produced from a nuclear weapon, according to Boston Rare Maps and Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps.

Courtesy of Boston Rare Maps and Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps

During World War II, the United States commissioned the top-secret Manhattan Project to research, develop and test nuclear bombs. On July 16, 1945 at 5:30 a.m., the first bomb was detonated at what was called the Trinity site in New Mexico. Over 300 drawings, maps and other documents from the Manhattan Project Medical Group are up for auction for $1.5 million. One sketch depicts a “mushroom cloud,” according to Boston Rare Maps and Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/21/1-25m-bronte-book-among-rarities-for-sale-at-nyc-fair/

Charlotte Brontë miniature book — $1.25 million

Brontë (1816-1855) wrote “A Book of Ryhmes by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself” when she was 13, according to James Cummins Bookseller.Courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller and Maggs Bro

English novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) was the eldest of three sisters whose works are an important part of literature’s cannon. Brontë wrote “Jane Eyre,” which was published in 1847. The classic has been made into movie many times.

An unpublished manuscript of Brontë, who wrote it when she was 13, was recently rediscovered.

Titled “A Book of Ryhmes by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself” is dated December 1829 and “smaller than a playing card,” according to James Cummins Bookseller and Maggs Bros.

The miniature book is for sale for $1.25 million, which, if sold, may be the highest ever fetched for a female author’s work, according to BBC News.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/21/1-25m-bronte-book-among-rarities-for-sale-at-nyc-fair/

Gandhi fingerprint — $850,000

“This is what I gave voluntarily at the risk of my life to keep my promise to the Government. Phoenix, Natal, 15th February 1909, M.K. Gandhi.”Courtesy of Raptis Rare Books

‘Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) led the nonviolent movement for India’s independence from British rule. In 1893, 23-year-old Gandhi moved to South Africa to practice law. The discrimination he experienced there “inspired him to found the Natal Indian Congress which opposed several proposed discriminatory legislations,” according to Raptis Rare Books.

The bookseller is offering a South African government document that contains Gandhi’s fingerprints and includes the inscription: “This is what I gave voluntarily at the risk of my life to keep my promise to the Government. Phoenix, Natal, 15th February 1909, M.K. Gandhi.”

The Great Gatsby — $358,000

https://nypost.com/2022/04/21/1-25m-bronte-book-among-rarities-for-sale-at-nyc-fair/

First edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.”Courtesy of Peter Harrington Rare Books

“For Christ’s sake don’t give anyone that jacket you’re saving for me. I’ve written it into the book,” author F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) wrote his publisher in 1924. The classic cover was created

by Francis Cugat (1893-1981) and influenced him while writing, according to Peter Harrington Rare Books, which is offering a first edition at the fair. “The Great Gatsby” and Fitzgerald’s work came to define the jazz age of the 1920s.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/21/1-25m-bronte-book-among-rarities-for-sale-at-nyc-fair/

APRIL 20, 2022

The Antiquarian Book Fair: From Sondheim’s Letters to a Brontë Discovery Among the rarities on view at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair are also a 1555 treatise on tennis and Amy Winehouse’s personal library.

By Jennifer Schuessler

The title page of one of 220 books owned (and charmingly marked up) by the singer Amy Winehouse, which will be offered for sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend. Credit...Type Punch Matrix

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/arts/antiquarian-book-fair-new-york.html

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which returns to the Park Avenue Armory this weekend after a two-year pandemic hiatus, is one of the world’s leading gatherings of the rare book tribe. For more casual visitors, it can also be an experience of dizzying information overload.

Yes, there are the museum-like displays of fine bindings, illuminated manuscripts and historic documents, with dramatic lighting (and eye-popping prices). But the fair, which runs from Thursday evening to Sunday, also features booths stuffed with pulp paperbacks, old advertisements, zines, board games, maps, photographs and all manner of accessibly priced ephemera that challenges any hidebound notions of “rare books.”

Here is a sampling of offerings at the more than 200 booths, from carefully curated libraries to jotted notes that speak to the power of pen and paper to stop time and conjure vanished worlds.

Send in the Sondheim

Part of an archive of 70 letters and postcards written by Stephen Sondheim over four decades to his close friend Larry Miller. Credit...via Schubertiade Music

After Stephen Sondheim’s death last November, social media was awash with images of the notes he regularly sent to theater colleagues famous and not, offering praise and encouragement.

Schubertiade Music is offering range of Sondheimiana, including a collection of 70 letters and postcards ($20,000) written over four decades to his close friend Larry Miller. In one, Sondheim describes a 1969 trip to Europe: “In Vienna we were treated with the doubtful pleasure of one act of ‘West Side Story’ in German. Funnier than the original, anyway, even if it is billed as ‘Bernstein’s West Side Story.’” Also on offer are autographed programs, scores and a mid-1930s class photograph ($1,000) showing a young Sondheim dressed as a clown. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/arts/antiquarian-book-fair-new-york.html

Atomic Dawn

Papers from the Manhattan Project’s Medical Group were buried in military archives at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado until the 1960s.Credit...via Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps and Boston Rare Maps

“Ball or mushroom rose slowly & majestically & ponderously & brilliantly — bright red purple [with] blue rim for a few seconds. So it towered up with streamers falling vertically in the stem & out of the cap.”

So wrote a member of the Manhattan Project’s Medical Group on July 16, 1945, after watching the world’s first detonation of a nuclear weapon, in the New Mexican desert, known as the Trinity Test. Boston Rare Maps and Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps are jointly offering a trove of 300 pages of little-seen handwritten diagrams, memos, maps and notes generated by the medical group, which was charged with monitoring health and safety. The documents ($1.5 million) — which include what the sellers say is the first written use of the term “mushroom cloud” — were buried in military archives at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado until the 1960s, when they were declassified and then sold to a private collector during the base’s decommissioning. The material reflects the tensions between preserving secrecy while protecting populations downwind from nuclear fallout, as well as the tension between dispassionate scientific observation and sheer awe.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/arts/antiquarian-book-fair-new-york.html

A Pioneering Black Shakespearean

An autographed lithograph, circa 1857, of Ira Aldridge, the first actor of African descent known to play Othello.

Credit...via Maggs Bros Ltd.

The London dealer Maggs Bros is offering an autographed lithograph, circa 1857, of Ira Aldridge, the first actor of African descent known to play Othello ($13,500). Born in 1807, Aldridge attended the African Free School of New York City and acted in William Brown’s African Theater before emigrating to England to seek better prospects. At first, he played African roles, sometimes written expressly for him. His turn as Othello came in 1832, when he stepped in after the renowned Edmund Kean collapsed onstage and died. Audiences loved it, but the critics were outraged.

Management closed the theater after two performances, and Aldridge did not appear on the mainstream London stage again for decades. The portrait, created during one of his triumphant tours of the European continent, “acknowledges his work as an artist rather than a mere curiosity,” according to the listing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/arts/antiquarian-book-fair-new-york.html

Tennis, Anyone?

Antonio Scaino’s 1555 treatise on tennis.Credit…via Jonathan Hill Bookseller

Jonathan Hill Bookseller of New York is offering a rare first edition of Antonio Scaino’s 1555 treatise on tennis ($45,000), said to be the first book on the game. By the mid-16th century, tennis was already a popular pastime among kings and commoners alike, though bitter disputes often broke out over the rules (plus ça change?). Scaino, a philosopher, apparently wrote the book after a debate with his patron, the duke of Ferrara (and the owner of as many as six courts), over how to award a point. It’s not clear who won that one, but scholars today still debate the validity of Scaino’s arcane theory of the origins of the game’s odd scoring system.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/arts/antiquarian-book-fair-new-york.html

This Girl’s Life

Two volumes of diaries, from 1831-2, by the precocious 11-year-old Emily Shore, a contemporary of Charlotte Brontë.

Credit…via Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers of London

One of the stars of the fair is a miniature book created in 1829 by 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë ($1.25 million), which recently surfaced after being considered lost for nearly a century.

But Brontë and her siblings were hardly the only word-mad British children of the era. Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers of London is offering two volumes of diaries, from 1831-2, by 11-yearold Emily Shore. The precocious Emily, who died at age 19, wrote three volumes of poetry, three novels and several histories, which went unpublished. She is known today through her diaries, which were published by her sisters in 1891 in heavily edited form. Today, only a handful of the dozen notebooks she filled her with tiny, meticulous handwriting are known to survive. The two on sale here offer an unfiltered window into the domestic life of a period where children, especially girls, were seen but rarely heard.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/arts/antiquarian-book-fair-new-york.html

End-of-the-World Library?

A 1554 first edition in Italian of Aristotle’s “Meteorology,” the oldest comprehensive treatise on the subject.

Credit…via Peter Harrington

The London dealer Peter Harrington spent a decade building One Hundred Seconds to Midnight, a collection of 800 works tracking more than 2,000 years of climate science and environmentalism, from Aristotle’s “Meteorology” and 19th-century weather records to NASA’s iconic “Earthrise” photograph and contemporary “cli-fi” novels. The dealer’s booth will feature highlights from the collection ($2.5 million), which tracks “both our recording of data and also our emotional response to it,” as a video tour of the collection puts it. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the World Land Trust.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/arts/antiquarian-book-fair-new-york.html

Punk Lit!

The safety-pin=pierced dustjacket of Sam Gideon’s “The Punk” (1977), said to be the first punk novel. It was supposedly written by a 14-year-old “closet punk” in London. Credit...via Type Punch Matrix

Type Punch Matrix, a Washington, D.C., bookseller that aims to make collecting more accessible and diverse, is known for edgy stock that pushes the boundaries of the rare books category. Their big-ticket offerings this year include a collection of more than 220 books that once belonged to the singer Amy Winehouse ($135,000), about 50 of which will be on display. (Among the sometimes heavily annotated titles is a marked-up script of “Little Shop of Horrors” from Winehouse’s theater-kid days, and a copy of Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” described as looking “like it was dropped in the bath.”) On a tighter budget? The dealers are also offering a pristine copy of Gideon Sams’s “The Punk” (1977), often said to be first punk novel, written, the story goes, by a 14-year-old British “closet punk” as a school assignment, and published after his mother rescued it from the trash. It comes with the original dust jacket, featuring a real safety-pin piercing the nose of the image of Johnny Rotten ($500).

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/arts/antiquarian-book-fair-new-york.html

APRIL 18, 2022

What to do this week: An Earth Day festival and more The Daybook is WSN’s weekly column listing in-person and online events at NYU and across New York City. This week: April 18 to April 24.

By The News Desk, news@nyunews.com

An antique book fair Noon-8 p.m. at 643 Park Avenue $10 with student ID The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair will showcase collections, including rare books, maps and historical documents, from more than 200 vendors. The antique documents available for sale range from fashion to gastronomy to children’s books. The fair will run from April 22 to April 24.

https://nyunews.com/news/2022/04/18/daybook-april-18-to-april-24/

APRIL 14, 2022

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

By Becky YP, Neighbor

Details This isn’t just any book fair—this is universally known as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair!

Come get your fix of rare antique books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, fine bindings, historical documents, prints, and more. Showcasing almost 200 exhibitors from all over the world (think the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Argentina, and more), the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is a book lover’s dream. Join members of the Hank community at the Park Avenue Armory’s 55,000 square foot hall to find and celebrate printed treasures of art, science, medicine, literature, fashion, philosophy, and more. Just book through Hank and we’ll help connect you with other interested folks to attend the fair with - we believe that the best connections start through shared interests and activities that engage the mind. https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/calendar/event/20220422/1829606/newyork-international-antiquarian-book-fair

1. Book your ticket with Hank 2. We’ll connect you with other Hank museum-goers to coordinate the timing of your visit.

Because the more bookworms, the merrier!

Included: -Admission to one day of the 62nd Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

FAQ: -Do I need to bring anything with me?

Please bring photo ID, proof

of

COVID

vaccination,

and

a

mask.

-How will I know what time to go to the book fair? Hank is here to help.

We’ll connect you via email to other interested folks, and together we’ll coordinate a time to attend the fair.

-Why should I book through Hank?

Our goal at Hank is to connect you with like-minded people in our older adult 55+ network with things to do in your community. When you book an activity with us, we'll match you with other Hank members attending the event so you can meet folks with shared interests. We'd also of course love for you to invite your friends, too!

https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/calendar/event/20220422/1829606/newyork-international-antiquarian-book-fair

chatter

2

tflix il e N The ill deta w e s h o w C h a r l o t ts how George’ and ionship relat d society e shift

Tom Cruise hosts the royals The actor (right) invited Prince William and Princess Kate to a private screening of Top Gun: Maverick in London after learning that William loved the 1986 original.

3 A tiny Brontë book resurfaces

1 Bridgerton gets a prequel Bow down! Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuval, above) has inspired a spinoff, which will follow the monarch as a young woman (played by India Amarteifio) and focus on her rise to power and marriage to King George.

4 Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan enter the booze biz

2

April 18, 2022

The a n n os i n g e r h e ’d u n c e d m up to ake it with fans a show free in Sept embe r

5 Eric Church cancels his concert— to watch basketball The show must go on!.!.!.!unless your favorite team is playing. The country star nixed his April 2 show in San Antonio so he could watch UNC play Duke in the NCAA Final Four showdown (his Tar Heels won).

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX; LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX; MICHAEL KOVAC/GETTY IMAGES; JAMES CUMMINS BOOKSELLER; ANN RONAN PICTURES/PRINT COLLECTOR/GETTY IMAGES; PARAS GRIFFIN/GETTY IMAGES; ISTOCKPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY MF LIBATIONS(2)

The married actors launched MF Libations (available via ReserveBar) with a smoky rye and a blackberry gin.

Now fans can “experience a taste of our home” in the Hudson Valley, Burton wrote.

Found tucked in an envelope in a private collection, A Book of Ryhmes—a long-lost mini manuscript written by Charlotte Brontë at age 13—will go on sale for $1.25 million at a New York City book fair.

Stephen Sondheim Letters and Other Broadway Treasures Will Be Available at New York International Antiquarian Book Fair MARCH 30, 2022

By Andrew Gans

The fair will return to New York for its 62nd edition beginning April 21 at the Park Avenue Armory.

Sondheim Letters

A host of theatrical memorabilia, including several Stephen Sondheim items, will be available for sale at the 62nd edition of The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. https://www.playbill.com/article/stephen-sondheim-letters-and-other-broadway-treasures-will-beavailable-at-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair

Sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates, the fair returns to the Park Avenue Armory April 21-24.

The Massachusetts-based Schubertiade, a gallery of rare offerings for collectors, scholars, music lovers, gift givers, museums, and libraries, will bring a treasure trove of Broadway and performing arts-related ephemera. Items include signed Playbills, an archive of personal letters and photographs from Sondheim, inscribed memorabilia from Leonard Bernstein, signed photographs from Alvin Ailey, and more.

Details of some of the Broadway-related items follow: West Side Story, Signed 1957 Broadway Souvenir Program; $2,000 Playbill from the original Broadway production of West Side Story, signed by much of the original cast, including Carol Lawrence, Larry Kert, Chita Rivera, Art Smith, Mickey Calin, Ken LeRoy, Lee Theodore, Eddie Roll, David Winters, and Tony Mordente.

Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021) Archive of Personal Letters, Programs and Photographs from a close friend, 1960s-2000s; $20,000 Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021). Original Childhood Photograph in clown costume; $1,000 Original first generation Alba Studio doubleweight photograph of Sondheim as a young boy at a costume party.

Leonard Bernstein. (1918–1990). "Fancy Free" – Inscribed Presentation Copy to Adolph Green; $1,500 Inscribed and dedicated by conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein to his friend, playwright Adolph Green, the dedicatee of the work, and who had expanded the work with Betty Comden into the hit Broadway musical On the Town.

Alvin Ailey (1931–1989) and Carmen Lavallade (b. 1931) Blues Suite - Signed Photograph; $1,000 Original ca. 1960 Will Rapport photograph of the dancers in performance in Blues Suite (sometimes also titled Roots of the Blues), which launched the Ailey company in 1958 and is often documented as the choreographer's first masterpiece.

NYIABF will showcase nearly 200 exhibitors from around the world. The fair’s specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books, and more.

Visit NYAntiquarianBookFair.com.

https://www.playbill.com/article/stephen-sondheim-letters-and-other-broadway-treasures-will-beavailable-at-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair

APRIL 29, 2022

Charlotte Brontë’s lost collection of poems resurfaces 100 years after vanishing—and sells for US $1.25 million

By Madeline Buiano

Charlotte Brontë is best known for her book Jane Eyre, but before she was a well-known English novelist and poet she was a 13-year-old girl who sewed her poems into a miniature makeshift manuscript with a needle and thread. The book of Brontë’s unpublished writings was lost to the public for more than a century, but it has since resurfaced and recently sold to an unknown buyer for US $1.25 million (around THB 4,30,65,625).

Details of the sale of Charlotte Brontë’s lost poems

https://www.prestigeonline.com/th/pursuits/art-culture/charlotte-brontes-lost-book-ofpoems-sells-for-millions/

James Cummins Bookseller partnered with London’s Maggs Bros. for the sale, which offered the playing card-sized document on behalf of a private owner. The book of rhymes was sold at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair where it was kept on display until April 24. The sale is notable as the collection of poems was last seen publicly when it sold for US $520 (around THB 17,915) in New York in 1916. It was rediscovered in a private collection inside an envelope hiding in the pages of a 19th-century schoolbook, Smithsonian Magazine reports.

The 15-page book, which Brontë coined “A Book of Ryhmes [sic] by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself” contains 10 poems never before seen by the public. The manuscript dates back to December 1829 and is stitched in its original brown paper covers. Brontë gives credit for the poems to the imaginary authors “Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley,” then writes that they are “actually written by me.” It concludes with an apologetic inscription on the back that reads “The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best.”

The creative manuscript comes as no surprise when you consider the unique imagination of its author. According to a release by the bookseller, Brontë and her siblings spent much of their youth developing a sophisticated imaginary world with a nation called Angria and a city called Glasstown whose inhabitants included the childrens’ heroes. “They wrote adventure stores, dramas, and verse in hand-made manuscript books filled with tiny handwriting intended to resemble print,” the release states.

The small manuscripts written by the Brontë children have since fallen into private hands, making their way into collections around the world. The Haworth Parsonage Museum, which Smithsonian Magazine says maintains the siblings’ childhood home and the largest library of their work, have purchased many of the valuable manuscripts at high price-points.

This story first appeared on www.marthastewart.com

https://www.prestigeonline.com/th/pursuits/art-culture/charlotte-brontes-lost-book-ofpoems-sells-for-millions/

APRIL 21, 2022

Πωλείται το βιογραφικό σημείωμα του Lee Alexander McQueen By ΝΑΤΑΛΊΑ ΚΑΤΣΑΚΙΏΡΗ

Πώς είναι άραγε το βιογραφικό ενός θρύλου της μόδας; Δώδεκα χρόνια έχουν περάσει χωρίς τον Lee, τον θρυλικό Lee Alexander McQueen, έναν μεγάλο καλλιτέχνη, που άλλαξε το τοπίο της παγκόσμιας μόδας για πάντα, μία ιδιοφυία, που τόσο άδικα έκοψε το νήμα της ίδιας του της ζωής, σοκάροντας τους πάντες. Το έργο του παραμένει διαχρονικό και αξεπέραστο, εμπνέοντας και συναρπάζοντας το κοινό ακόμη και σήμερα, με μια σχεδόν μεταφυσική ματιά στα πράγματα. Αυτή την φορά ήρθε στην επιφάνεια ένα παλιό βιογραφικό σημείωμα του Lee, το οποίο πιθανολογείται ότι γράφτηκε ανάμεσα στο 1992 με 1993, όταν ο ίδιος ήταν ακόμη ένας νέος και άσημος ράφτης, που έψαχνε δουλειά. Να πούμε πως τότε ο Lee ήταν μόνο 24 ετών. Το βιογραφικό του είναι γραμμένο σε γραφομηχανή, μιας και μιλάμε για μία περίοδο που ο ηλεκτρονικός υπολογιστής δεν ήταν ακόμη διαδεδομένος. https://www.queen.gr/moda/fashion-news/story/247907/poleitai-to-viografiko-simeiomatoy-lee-alexander-mcqueen

Ο ίδιος χόρησε το CV του σε τρία sections, με τους τίτλους «Personal Details», «Education» και «Employment». Εκεί αναφέρει φυσικά την προυπηρεσία του στο πασίγνωστο brand «Anderson and Sheppard», το οποίο «φημίζεται για τις μαλακότερες ζακέτες του κόσμου και έχει πελάτες όπως η Αυτού Υψηλότητα, ο Πρίγκιπας της Ουαλίας, και ο Calvin Klein, για τους οποίους είχα την τύχη να φτιάξω ρούχα,» όπως έγραψε ο ίδιος.

Παρακάτω γράφει επίσης και για την freelance συνεργασία του με τον σχεδιαστή Romeo Gigli, για τον οποίο, όπως τονίζει, δημιούργησε νέα shapes τόσο για την ανδρική, όσο και την γυναικεία συλλογή του. Επίσης, μιλάει και για την παλιά γαλλική τεχνική μέθοδο κοπής υφασμάτων,του 16ου αιώνα, την οποία όπως αναφέρει έμαθε από ένα παλιό βιβλίο, που του έδωσε ο εργοδότης του στο Bermans and Nathans. Το συγκεκριμένο βιογραφικό προέρχεται από την συλλογή της προσωπικής του φίλης, Alice Smith, η οποία υπήρξε μάλιστα και μούσα του αλλά και η πρώτη του publisher, και θα δημοπρατηθεί στο New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Η τιμή εκκκίνησης θα είναι στα 1.000$, ωστόσο αναμένεται να ανέβει δεδομένου του ιδιαίτερου ιδιοκτήτη του.

https://www.queen.gr/moda/fashion-news/story/247907/poleitai-to-viografiko-simeiomatoy-lee-alexander-mcqueen

https://www.queen.gr/moda/fashion-news/story/247907/poleitai-to-viografiko-simeiomatoy-lee-alexander-mcqueen

APRIL 1, 2022

The Book Fairs Arrive in New York!

By Bruce E. McKinney

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Armory in New York City April 21-24 and the world is taking a collective deep breath as Covid-19 is moving on. The address is 643 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10065. The ABAA is a show organization and the New York Book Fair has been suspended for two years. For collectors, dealers and librarians, the chance to participate at the world’s greatest book fair is a heady moment of reverie. Is the worst behind us? We all hope so.

As has been previously, it is a 4-day event, Thursday afternoon opening, continuing Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A significant percentage of its participants will be 65 and older so expect masks will be necessary for the protection of the vulnerable. Many of us have lost friends to Covid.

It is also understood but has not yet been confirmed that the ABAA, after the traditional NY Book Fair slips into the past, they will then be running the ABAA Virtual Book Fair: New York Edition on May 4-5.

As to what the feeling is among dealers and clients, Nick Aretakis of the William Reese Company was recently asked about the upcoming ABAA fair and mentioned dealers, collectors and institutions are ready to arrive. Personal interaction is an important aspect of collectible paper. And personally, he expressed it this way: “We are ready and looking forward to meeting old friends and new collectors!”

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/3168

Here is the official announcement shown on the ABAA’s website: The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair Returns to New York for its 62nd Edition at the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24 Pre-Gutenberg to the 21st Century – Astounding Offers Spanning the History of the Written Word NEW YORK CITY (March 2022): The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF)— officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates— is making its much-anticipated return to the Park Avenue Armory from April 21-24, 2022, for its 62nd Edition. The NYIABF is a cultural mainstay in the city and is proud to return as a highlight of the Spring cultural calendar in New York City and the New York region at large. Returning to the in-person format in a time when print books and ephemera have mattered more than ever and continue to serve as a source of comfort and escape during a period of uncertainty, the fair has never been more relevant. Universally referred to as the world’s finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF is thrilled to showcase 185 exhibitors this year from around the world, continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair. This year, as world travel restrictions are lifted, the fair organizers are working closely with their international dealers to ensure a seamless return to the States and will welcome exhibitors from 14 different countries. An impressive number of US exhibitors also highlight the incredible wealth of material available stateside.

Exhibitors will present a vast trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera. Several of the 2022 exhibitors have participated in the NYIABF since its inception, attesting to the fair’s longevity and relevance to its dealers and audiences. However, the fair continues to attract new antiquarian booksellers and attendees as it evolves, welcoming 19 new exhibitors this year including Auger Down Books, Autographes des Siècles, Brenner's Books - Rare & Collectable, Bull's Head Rare Books LLC, Cleveland Book Company, Daniel / Oliver Gallery, Evening Star Books, First Edition Rare Books, LLC, Johnson Rare Books, Le Bookiniste, Le Zograscope, Liberty Book Store, Lizzyoung bookseller, Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books Ltd, studio montespecchio di jan van der donk, Temple Rare Books, Voewood Rare Books and William Chrisant & Sons. The fair’s specialties encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children’s books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual—to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics—the fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject.

In recent years, NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking oneof-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Prices range from $50 to millions.

As has been the case for many years, the ABAA spreads their umbrella wide enough for other book fairs to thrive nearby. This year Tina and John Bruno’s Flamingo Eventz will resume their shadow show after several years in suspension. Their in-person event, The Manhattan Vintage Book, Ephemera and Fine Press Extravaganza will be taking place at The Church of St. Vincent Ferrer at 869 Lexington Avenue on Saturday 23 April. The hours are 10:00am to 5:00pm. Eighty dealers have signed up.

Marvin Getman’s satellite show, which had been a fixture during fair week, is being held as a virtual event. The physical event will not take place. Here’s his link: https://getmansvirtual.com/ The ABAA’s show site: https://www.abaa.org/events/details/61st-annual-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/3168

APRIL 21, 2022

Tiny Bronte book, unseen for a century, goes on sale in New York

A miniature of the unpublished manuscript titled “A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself" written by English novelist and poet Charlotte Bronte on display at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair in New York City on April 21, 2022 TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP

New York (AFP) – A miniature book of poems written by a 13-year-old Charlotte Bronte was unveiled in New York on Thursday after more than a century hidden away.

Smaller than a playing card, the 15-page manuscript dated 1829 is a collection of ten unpublished poems. Titled "A Book of Ryhmes (sic) by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself," the volume is hand-stitched in its original brown paper covers. It is the last of more than two dozen miniature works created by the "Jane Eyre" novelist known to remain in private hands.

Now it is us up for sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, with an asking price of $1.25 million. The fair opened Thursday and runs until Sunday.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-on-sale-in-new-york-1

The existence of the handwritten "A Book of Ryhmes" has long been known to scholars, having been mentioned in Elizabeth Gaskell's 1857 biography of Bronte. But the poems themselves, whose titles include "The Beauty of Nature," "Songs of an Exile" and "On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel" have never published.

Raised in relative isolation in the moorland village of Haworth in Yorkshire, England, Bronte and her younger sisters Emily and Anne entertained themselves by weaving intricate stories set in a sophisticated imaginary world. Their imaginations spawned novels hailed as classics of English literature, including Charlotte's "Jane Eyre," Emily's "Wuthering Heights" and Anne's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall." Like many female writers of the time, they originally published their works under male pseudonyms.

At the start of "A Book of Rhymes," or "Ryhmes" as Bronte spelled it, she writes: "The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best."

'Extremely fragile' She also refers to the imaginary world that the Bronte sisters created along with their brother Branwell. "This book is written by myself but I pretend that the Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley in the Young Men's World have written one like it," she wrote. The miniature volumes remained in the family until the 1890s, when they began to be sold to collectors in Britain and America. More than 100 years later they continue to garner great interest.

In November 2019, a Charlotte Bronte miniature manuscript, an issue of her "Young Men's Magazine," sold for 780,000 euros ($850,000). In December last year, a group of British libraries and museums purchased a collection of books and manuscripts, including seven of Charlotte's miniatures for £15 million ($19.5 million). New York-based James Cummins Bookseller is selling "A Book of Ryhmes" in partnership with London rare books firm Maggs Bros. They are doing so on behalf of an anonymous seller "who wishes to make certain of the work's future preservation," they said in a press release.

Henry Wessells of James Cummins told AFP the private owner had found the manuscript " in an envelope tucked into a book." "It's smaller than a business card, extremely fragile," he said. "It's wonderful to look at it inside and soon the world will be able to see it," Wessells added.

The book hasn't been seen in public since November 1916, when it sold at auction in New York City for $520.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-on-sale-in-new-york-1

APRIL 14, 2022

One of the World’s Best Collections of Wine Books Is Going on Sale for $2 Million Later This Month The Thackrey Library paints a remarkably complete picture of the development of wine culture in the West.

By Bryan Hood

Ben Kinmont Bookseller

New York-based wine and rare book lovers both have something special to look forward to this month. Oenophiles will want to make a point of swinging by Ben Kinmont Bookseller’s table at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) later in April. That’s because the exhibitor will be selling the Thackrey Library, which is generally considered to be the greatest privately-owned collection of wine books in the United States.

https://robbreport.com/food-drink/wine/thackrey-library-new-york-internationalantiquarian-book-fair-1234674370/

The collection was put together by wine maker Sean Thackrey and consists of more than 700 books and manuscripts about vino, according to a press release. The monographs, which were primarily written between the 15th century and the phylloxera epidemic in the late 19th century, include all of the important works of oenology and viticulture—like Arnaldus de Villanova’s De vinis (1530) and Jacobus Praefectus’s De diversorum vini generum natura liber (1564)—along with plenty of other lesser known titles. Together the books paint a remarkably complete picture of the development and evolution of wine culture in the West. At the festival, Kinmot will be showcasing 46 highlights from the collection, which is being sold en bloc for $2 million.

A plate from Arnaldus de Villanova’s “De vinis” (1530) Ben Kinmont Bookseller

“The object of this library is to present an anthology of early texts on the making and understanding of wine, with many, many others just thrown in because I think they’re pleasures,” Thackrey wrote of the collection on his website. “These texts span the entire spectrum from obscure to more so.

Some are known, although actually read only under academic duress; some are unknown altogether. The fact is, inexplicable though it may (and to me does) seem, that apparently no such anthology has ever previously been published, in print, on the internet, or anywhere else.”

Incredibly, Thackrey has made the transcribed text of much of his collection available to read online through that same website. But to really get the full experience, you want to view the truly beautiful books and illustrations for yourself at the 62nd annual NYIABF, which will be held from April 21 to 24 at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood.

https://robbreport.com/food-drink/wine/thackrey-library-new-york-internationalantiquarian-book-fair-1234674370/

A closeup of a A 15th-century manuscript on winemaking and its effects on the body. Ben Kinmont Bookseller

Tickets for the annual event are available now through the festival’s website. A ticket for the opening night preview, which include an additional daily admission, is available for $60, while general admission tickets for those 16 and older can be had for $30, and student tickets for $10. If you find it hard to believe one day will be enough, a “Run of Show” package, which allows you to visit multiple times, is available for $45.

If you can’t make it to the fair later this month, but have been inspired to add a wine-related tome to your library, our most recent oenophile gift guide has a couple of options you might want to check out.

https://robbreport.com/food-drink/wine/thackrey-library-new-york-internationalantiquarian-book-fair-1234674370/

MARCH 30, 2022

A Tiny Brontë Book, Lost For A Century, Resurfaces

By Jennifer Schuessler NEW YORK, NY.- The miniature books created by Charlotte Brontë and her siblings as children have long been objects of fascination for fans and deep-pocketed collectors. Initially created to entertain their toy soldiers, the tiny volumes reflected the rich imaginary world they created in the isolation of the family home on the moors of northern England, which fed into novels like Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre” and Emily’s “Wuthering Heights.”

Now, the last of the more than two dozen created by Charlotte to remain in private hands has surfaced and will be coming up for sale next month. “A Book of Rhymes,” a 15-page volume smaller than a playing card, was last seen at auction in 1916 in New York, where it sold for $520 before disappearing, its whereabouts — and even its survival — unknown. It will be unveiled April 21, the opening night of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair and, as it happens, Brontë’s birthday.

The asking price?

A cool $1.25 million.

The titles of the 10 poems (including “The Beauty of Nature” and “On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel”) have long been known, thanks to the 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, which transcribed Brontë’s own handwritten catalog of her juvenilia. But the poems themselves have never been published, photographed, transcribed or even summarized.

And they’ll stay that way at least a little bit longer. One recent morning, Henry Wessells, a bookseller at Manhattan firm James Cummins Bookseller (which is selling the book in partnership with London-based firm Maggs Bros.) was eager to show off the tiny volume — on the condition its contents not be quoted or described. “The eventual purchaser will be able to steward them into publication, which will be a red-letter day for Brontë scholarship,” he said.

Wessells, a 25-year veteran of the book trade, has handled many remarkable things over the years, including the archives of the New York Review of Books and a flag flown by T.E. Lawrence and the victorious Arab rebels at the Battle of Aqaba in 1917. But the unassuming hand-stitched bundle of Brontë paper is “a once-in-a-career item.”

“It’s thrilling to be part of the history of English literature, one link in the chain,” he said. “And there’s also just the joy of actually having it on my desk. The more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes.” There have been plenty of dramatic red-letter days in Brontë scholarship of late. Last year, a large “lost” library of Brontë manuscripts and other literary artifacts that had been virtually unseen for a century surfaced suddenly and was put up for auction. After an outcry, the auction was postponed, and the collection was acquired intact for $20 million by an unusual consortium of libraries and museums, to be preserved for the British public. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/a-tiny-bronte-book-lost-for-a-centuryresurfaces/

And in 2019, the Brontë Parsonage Museum raised nearly $800,000 to buy a miniature magazine made by Charlotte that came up for auction after the French commercial venture that owned it went bankrupt. The miniature microvolumes had remained in the Brontë family until the 1890s, when they were dispersed, along with many other manuscripts and artifacts, after the death of the second wife of Charlotte’s widower. Today, all the other tiny books made by Charlotte are in institutional collections, including the Morgan Library & Museum in New York.

“The Book of Rhymes” (or “ryhmes,” as Charlotte spelled it on the title page), Wessells said, had survived tucked in a letter-size envelope stashed inside a 19th-century schoolbook in what he described as “an American private collection.” (He declined to say more about the owner, citing a confidentiality agreement.)

In his office, he opened the envelope, which was labeled “Brontë manuscript,” and in the upper left corner, “most valuable.” Then he pulled out the book, which was folded inside a copy of an old auction listing. The book was made of cheap, drab brown paper, unevenly trimmed and sewn together with thread, “textured like a tiny rope,” as Wessels put it. He turned to the back to show the table of contents, with Charlotte’s explanation that the poems are credited to two imaginary authors in the fictional world, “Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley,” but actually “written by me.”

He then flipped to the title page, flipping it over to read a disclaimer on the reverse: “The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best.” And finally, he slowly turned the pages, to allow a tantalizing glimpse of the poems, reiterating that the contents were off the record. No worries there. The microscopic handwriting, intended to mimic the printed fonts of a “real” book, was impossible to read at a quick glance without a magnifying glass.

The poems — some long, some short, sometimes with crossed-out words and corrections — were each dated and signed or initialed “C.B.” Wessells described them as “of different styles and meters” (including a sonnet, listed on the table of contents as “A Thing of fourteen lines”) but declined to offer any “literary evaluation.”

Claire Harman, a Brontë scholar who also viewed the manuscript in Wessells’ office, said she could decipher a few snippets of the poems, which she called “the last unread poems by Charlotte Brontë.” And depending on the desires of the buyer, she noted, “they may stay that way.” (Wessells said future plans for the manuscript may be “one factor” in identifying “an appropriate buyer.”)

The poems seemed “very charming” she said, despite Brontë’s disclaimer. As for the handwriting, she said, “it’s like a mouse has been writing this,” comparing the experience of reading the Brontë miniature books to Alice’s growing and shrinking in “Alice in Wonderland.”

“They’re like portals into a different world,” she said. “You go in, and you come out the other side.”

This story was originally published at nytimes.com. Read it here.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/a-tiny-bronte-book-lost-for-a-centuryresurfaces/

APRIL 26, 2022

A Tiny Brontë Book, Sold for $1.25 Million, to Return Home A miniature book by the 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë, containing perhaps her last unseen poems, has been purchased by a charity and will be donated to the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

By Jennifer Schuessler

The table of contents in “A Book of Rhymes,” the last of the two dozen miniature books made by the young Charlotte Bronte in 1829, which recently resurfaced after nearly a century, at James Cummins Bookseller in New York, March 8, 2022. The book, containing perhaps the last unseen poems of the future author of “Jane Eyre” and offered for $1.25 million at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, has been purchased by a British charity and will be donated to the Bronte Parsonage Museum in the village of Haworth, England. (Clark Hodgin/The New York Times)

https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/a-tiny-bronte-book-sold-for-1-25-million-toreturn-home/?amp=1

The last of the two dozen miniature books made by the young Charlotte Brontë to remain in private hands, which resurfaced last month after nearly a century, will soon be heading home to the remote parsonage on the moors of northern England where it was made.

“A Book of Rhymes,” which contains 10 previously unpublished poems by the 13-year-old Brontë, was a star attraction over the weekend at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, where it was offered for $1.25 million. At the fair’s preview last Thursday, a red dot indicating it had been sold appeared on the label inside the specially constructed display case, setting off speculations about the buyer.

On Monday, it was revealed that the buyer is the Friends of the National Libraries, a British charity, which is donating it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire, home to one of the world’s largest collections of Brontë manuscripts. Ann Dinsdale, the museum’s chief curator, said in a statement that she was “absolutely thrilled” by the turn of events. “It is always emotional when an item belonging to the Brontë family is returned home and this final little book coming back to the place where it was written after being thought lost is very special for us,” she said. According to a news release, the book will be put on public display and also digitized, making poems that have been virtually unseen since they were written accessible to readers around the world.

The miniature books and magazines created by the young Charlotte. Emily, Anne and Branwell Brontë in the 1820s have long been objects of fascination for ordinary people and deep-pocketed collectors alike. Initially created to entertain their toy soldiers (and sewn together from sugar packets, wallpaper scraps and other stray bits of paper), the tiny volumes reflected the rich imaginary world they created in the isolation of the family home, which fed into novels like Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre” and Emily’s “Wuthering Heights.”

“A Book of Rhymes,” a 15-page volume smaller than a playing card made it 1829, was last seen at auction in 1916 in New York, where it sold for $520. It then disappeared from view, its whereabouts — and even its survival — unknown. The titles of the 10 poems inside had been listed in the 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell. But the poems themselves have never been published, photographed, transcribed or even summarized, making them what some scholars say are the last of her unread poems.

The news of its resurfacing sparked fears that the book might disappear into another private collection. The dealers James Cummins Booksellers and Maggs Bros., who were selling the book on behalf of an unidentified private collector, offered it first to the Friends of the National Libraries, giving them several weeks to raise the purchase price. (Funds were raised from more than nine donors, including the Garfield Weston Foundation and the T.S. Eliot Estate.)

The purchase is just the latest dramatic save by the group. Last year, it raised $20 million to preserve the Honresfield Library, a famous “lost” library of rare books and manuscripts relating to the Brontës, Robert Burns, Walter Scott and others, which had been set for dispersal at auction at Sotheby’s.

The items from that trove will be distributed to a number of libraries and museums, including the Brontë parsonage. The parsonage already owns nine miniature books by the children, which will soon be joined with seven more from the Honresfield Library, in addition to Charlotte’s “Book of Rhymes.” At $1.25 million, the 3.8 x 2.5-inch “Book of Rhymes” is, inch for inch, “possibly the most valuable literary manuscript ever sold,” the news release boasted. And its literary quality?

On the reverse of the title page, Charlotte offered a modest disclaimer: “The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged, but they are nevertheless my best.” https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/a-tiny-bronte-book-sold-for-1-25-million-toreturn-home/?amp=1

APRIL 22, 2022

A book lover’s paradise: The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair | New in NYC

By Alyssa Ammirati

An antique edition of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is featured on the New York Antiquarian website.

(Courtesy of Sanford L. Smith and Associates)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Book lovers beware. The 62nd annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair will take place from April 21 to April 24.

The fair will be held in the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave., between 66th and 67th streets, Manhattan. https://www.silive.com/news/2022/04/a-book-lovers-paradise-the-new-york-internationalantiquarian-book-fair-new-in-nyc.html?outputType=amp

Produced by Sanford L. Smith and Associates, the book fair will showcase nearly 200 exhibitors.

“We’re thrilled and very fortunate that we are able to hold the book fair in person this year and expect it to be a highlight of the New York spring arts calendar,’' said Smith. “While there have been successful virtual fairs, it is not the same experience as meeting the exhibitors in person and experiencing the wealth of materials available firsthand. We’re expecting a great turnout with nearly 180 exhibitors from around the world.”

Exhibitors of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair include: Appledore Books, B & B Rare Books, Cleveland Book Company and Liberty Book Store. (Courtesy of Sanford L. Smith and Associates)

These exhibitors will present a wide variety of items, such as rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, illustrations, historical documents and print ephemera. Genres of books will include art, science, medicine, literature, history, philosophy and religion.

https://www.silive.com/news/2022/04/a-book-lovers-paradise-the-new-york-internationalantiquarian-book-fair-new-in-nyc.html?outputType=amp

The book fair in recent years has caught the attention of many young collectors and readers. (Courtesy of Sanford L. Smith and Associates)

Book fair hours are: • Friday, April 22: Noon to 8 p.m.

• Saturday, April 23: Noon to 7 p.m.

• Sunday, April 24: Noon to 5 p.m.

•

The price for general admission is $30. Students who show ID at the door will pay $10. A “Run of Show Admission” will cost $45. Visit the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair website to buy tickets.

https://www.silive.com/news/2022/04/a-book-lovers-paradise-the-new-york-internationalantiquarian-book-fair-new-in-nyc.html?outputType=amp

APRIL 22, 2022

Lost Charlotte Brontë Manuscript Sells for $1.25 Million The tiny booklet contains the author’s last unpublished poems

By Jane Recker

A Book of Ryhmes by Charlotte Bronte Courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller, Inc.

Nearly 200 years ago, a 13-year-old created a tiny book of poems in minuscule, print-like text and sewed it into a miniature book with needle and thread.

That teenage author was Charlotte Brontë, who would later go on to write Jane Eyre and become one of English literature’s most acclaimed novelists. And that manuscript—lost for years and only recently rediscovered inside a 19th-century schoolbook—just sold for $1.25 million, Barrons’ Josh Nathan-Kazis reports.

The buyer’s identity has not yet been disclosed, Manhattan book dealer Henry Wessells tells Barrons. But the fate of the never-before-seen poems inside could depend on who purchased the manuscript. https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

James Cummins Bookseller partnered with London’s Maggs Bros. for the sale, which took place at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. The public can view the book in New York since yesterday (Brontë’s birthday) through April 24. The 15-page “A Book of Ryhmes [sic] by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself” contains 10 never-before-seen poems.

The playing-card-sized book’s tiny handwriting, intended to look like the font of a printing press, is “impossible to read at a quick glance without a magnifying glass,” writes the New York Times’ Jennifer Schuessler.

Its contents illuminate the personality of its young author. In the table of contents, Brontë credits the poems to the imaginary authors “Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley,” then disclaims they are “actually written by me.” On the back of the title page, she apologetically inscribes, “The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best.”

Miniature books played an outsized role in the lives of the author, her brother Branwell, and sisters Emily and Anne. Well-read, precocious and isolated in the small Yorkshire town of Haworth, the children created a “sophisticated imaginary world,” the dealers write in a release—one that preoccupied them into their adulthoods. Charlotte and Branwell imagined Angria, and Emily and Anne created Gondal—worlds of adventure that inspired tiny books, poems and eventually the sister’s novels. "Just think of the Brontë children telling and writing stories among themselves, learning at home in a remote village, and then blossoming, briefly, to write the books that have been read by millions ever since, and also leaving behind hand-made things such as this manuscript," Wessells tells CNN’s Aya Elamroussi.

The manuscripts fell into private hands and were strewn in various collections around the world after the premature deaths of all four Brontë siblings. In recent years, British cultural institutions and the Haworth Parsonage Museum, which maintains the siblings’ childhood home and the largest library of Brontë materials, have purchased many of the manuscripts for astronomical prices.

In 2011, one of the little books sold for $1.07 million after a bidding war exploded between rival museums, and in 2021 a trove of documents, including a rare manuscript of Emily’s poems, resulted in a landmark campaign to raise more than $20 million to purchase the entire library. The appeal succeeded and last December, the Times reports, the institutions managed to buy the entire collection intact. The just-sold manuscript was last publicly seen when it was sold for $520 in New York in 1916; it was recently discovered in a private collection inside a letter-sized envelope tucked in the pages of a 19th-century schoolbook.

This 1829 edition is especially valuable. Brontë scholar Claire Harman describes its contents as “the last unread poems by Charlotte Brontë,” according to the Times. Charlotte Brontë was the last survivor of her literary siblings Emily and Anne, who wrote “Wuthering Heights” and “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall;” and Branwell, who struggled with alcoholism and was Charlotte’s childhood co-conspirator. All three of Charlotte’s siblings died of tuberculosis within an eightmonth period at around 30 years of age.

Though Charlotte was reported to have succumbed to the same fate six years later, less than a year into her marriage, historians now believe she died from the dehydration and starvation caused by hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness which famously afflicted Kate Middleton during her pregnancies. https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

Due to the authors’ short lifespans, any original Brontë manuscript is an incredible find for literary lovers. The titles of the poems in the tiny book have long been known thanks to Brontë’s personal catalog of her works (among them “The Beauty of Nature,” “Song of an Exile,” and “On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel”). But the poems have never even been summarized, let alone published. It remains to be seen if the future buyer will decide to make its contents public.

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

APRIL 15, 2022

DAILY NEWS: WHAT MAKES SIENNA MILLER TICK, THE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER’S ANNUAL BASH RAISES $1.8 MILLION, DOTDASH MEREDITH DISCONTINUES MARTHA STEWART MAG, AND MORE!

by Freya Drohan

https://fashionweekdaily.com/daily-news-what-makes-sienna-miller-tick-the-lgbtcommunity-centers-annual-bash-raises-1-8-million-dotdash-meredith-discontinues-marthastewart-mag-and-more/

Lee McQueen’s 1990s-era resume is up for grabs Can you really put a price on owning a rare piece of fashion history? This month at the International Antiquarian Book Fair in New York City, a resume belonging to the late, great Lee McQueen will be up for auction. Compiled by the designer in either 1992 or 1993 when he was just 24-years-old, the curriculum vitae lists his Masters degree in Fashion as well as his four-year stint apprenticing on Saville Row. He also includes his personal interests as collecting photography books and following cult movies from the ’60s and ’70s. The document was in the possession of Alice Smith, McQueen’s friend, muse, and first-ever publicist (he famously paid her in clothes). The asking bid for the item starts at $1,000. Other fashion rarities to highlight include an autographed photo by Yves Saint Laurent, an Isaac Mizrahi fashion sketch, photos by Helmut Newton and Richard Avedon, and regency-period watercolors. You can find all the details about the event at the Park Avenue Armory, taking place from April 21-24, right here. Have your paddles at the ready, folks!

https://fashionweekdaily.com/daily-news-what-makes-sienna-miller-tick-the-lgbtcommunity-centers-annual-bash-raises-1-8-million-dotdash-meredith-discontinues-marthastewart-mag-and-more/

APRIL 23, 2022

Forget the likes of Will Smith. Audiences are also behaving badly

By Rebecca Nicholson

Another Brontë bestseller. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Charlotte Brontë: misspelt teenage poetry is book fair headline act I have never been to the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, taking place this weekend, though I am imagining it as a kind of Glastonbury for bibliophiles, with all the hedonism yet none of the regrets. The star of this year’s fair, the Pyramid stage headliner, if you will, is Charlotte Brontë, played in the film To Walk Invisible by Finn Atkins, right. In 1829, nearly two decades before she would write Jane Eyre, a 13-year-old Brontë compiled A Book of Ryhmes [sic], a handwritten collection of 10 of her poems, sewn into a miniature book, a little smaller than a deck of cards. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/22/forget-the-likes-of-will-smithaudiences-are-also-behaving-badly

It is reassuring that even one of the most celebrated authors of all time could not spell rhyme correctly and I love the teenage petulance of its title page: “Sold by nobody and printed by herself,” she wrote. The “sold by nobody” is no longer the case. Last Thursday, it reportedly sold for $1.25m (£973,500) to a private collector. This beats the highest price previously paid for a printed work by a woman of $1.17m, for a first edition of Frankenstein in 2021. Funnily enough, that is about what I would pay someone not to read my attempts at writing poetry as a teenager.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/22/forget-the-likes-of-will-smithaudiences-are-also-behaving-badly

APRIL 25, 2022

Charlotte Brontë’s Rare Childhood Poetry Booklet Will Return Home After Selling For $1.25 Million

By Mark Brown Manuscript entitled A Book of Ryhmes (sic) measures 10cm by 6cm and was written by the author when she was 13

‘Saving Charlotte Brontë’s little book is a giant gain for Britain,’ said the chair of the literary charity that raised the money to buy it. Photograph: images courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller

A tiny book, smaller than a playing card and containing 10 tantalisingly unpublished poems, is returning home to the West Yorkshire parsonage where it was lovingly written in 1829 by the 13year-old Charlotte Brontë. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/apr/25/charlotte-brontes-125m-little-book-of10-poems-returns-home

Thought lost, it was bought in New York for $1.25m (£1m) with Haworth in mind and given it measures just 10cm by 6cm, it is probably, centimetre for centimetre, the most valuable literary manuscript ever sold.

Its artistic value is also through the roof. “It is phenomenal really,” said Ann Dinsdale, principal curator of the Brontë Parsonage Museum. “I can’t quite believe it. I haven’t been able to take it all in yet.”

The manuscript is one of the “little books” written when Charlotte and her siblings Emily, Anne and Branwell were children. Often written for Branwell’s toy soldiers, the manuscripts shine light on just how creative and astoundingly talented the four of them were.

A drawing of Charlotte Brontë by George Richmond. Photograph: Apic/Getty Images

Titled “A Book of Ryhmes [sic] by Charlotte Brontë, Sold by Nobody and Printed by Herself” it is a collection of 10 poems she wrote aged 13. “She’s known for her novels but initially Charlotte wanted to be a poet,” said Dinsdale. “We know that she sent samples of her poetry to the poet laureate and she told him of her ambition to be a poet, which is quite something.” The poet laureate was Robert Southey who shamefully advised her against a literary career. “Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life: and it ought not to be,” he wrote.

The titles of the poems have been known to experts and are a long way from an isolated parsonage and the windswept moors of Yorkshire. They include On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel, Songs of an Exile and Meditations While Journeying in a Canadian Forest. Astonishingly, the poems themselves have never been published, photographed, transcribed or even summarised. A Book of Ryhmes is the last of more than two dozen miniature books created by Charlotte to remain in private hands. It was last seen at auction in New York in 1916 where it was sold for $520. It then disappeared with its whereabouts, or survival, unknown until now.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/apr/25/charlotte-brontes-125m-little-book-of10-poems-returns-home

When it emerged that the book would be a star of last weekend’s New York International Antiquarian book fair, the UK’s leading literary heritage charity sprang into action. The Friends of the National Libraries (FNL) was founded in 1931 to help save the UK’s written and printed history. One of its biggest successes was last year raising £15m to save the Honresfield Library, an unprecedented treasure trove of literary heritage and wonders that includes a letter in which Jane Austen anticipates the end of a love affair. Geordie Greig, the chair of FNL, said they had only two weeks to raise the money to buy the book, which had been a daunting task.

The Brontë parsonage in Haworth. Photograph: Rob Ford/Alamy

“Saving Charlotte Brontë’s little book is a giant gain for Britain,” he said. “To return this literary treasure to the Brontë Parsonage where it was written is important for scholars and also students studying one of our greatest women writers.” Among the benefactors giving money to buy the book are the estate of TS Eliot and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

The manuscript is being donated to the Brontë Society whose museum in Haworth has the largest collection of Brontë manuscripts in the world. It already has nine little books, soon to be joined by seven more from the Honresfield Library. Dinsdale said it was likely all four Brontës made little books or magazines when they were children, although none survive by Anne or Emily.

The four siblings created a sophisticated imaginary world with a nation called Angria and a city called Glass Town, filled with their childhood heroes. From there came some of the greatest of all novels, none more so than Charlotte’s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/apr/25/charlotte-brontes-125m-little-book-of10-poems-returns-home

APRIL 25, 2022

Dispatches from this year’s New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

By Olivia Rutigliano

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, held annually in the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan, has returned! This weekend (from Thursday, April 21st to Sunday, April 24th), hundreds of rare and antique book dealers from all over the world set up stalls and shelves to display their special and historic items of note, all of which were available for purchase.

Following last year’s cancellation of the physical fair due to COVID-19 concerns, this year’s event got off to an excellent start, with the bookselling and collecting communities glad to finally assemble together once more.

Among the innumerable treasures on display was a miniature book handmade by Charlotte Brontë in 1839 when she was 13 years old. That book, “A Book of Rhymes,” was last seen in public at an auction in 1916, and by Thursday’s opening day had already sold at an estimated price of $1.25 million. (Although it had already been purchased, the book remained on display throughout the fair.) It was on display at the stall belonging to the James Cummins Booksellers of New York City, which sold the book together with the Maggs Bros. of London.

https://lithub.com/dispatches-from-this-years-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

After seeing the minuscule Brontë volume, I paid a visit to the stall belonging to London’s Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers. They were selling two remarkable, similar documents from the same period: two diaries written by a young girl named Emily Shore from 1831-1832. Emily died at 19, but in her short life wrote three volumes of poetry and three novels, as well as other works—but the only texts of hers that were ever published were her diaries, heavily edited and published by her sisters many years later, in 1891. Not many of her notebooks survive, but Jarndyce had acquired the first two volumes, written in tiny, precise, perfect handwriting.

https://lithub.com/dispatches-from-this-years-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

Shortly after, I made my way over to the booth run by Type Punch Matrix, the Washington, D.C.based dealers of eclectic literary materials, who were displaying Amy Winehouse’s personal library, including her own script from a school production of “Little Shop of Horrors” in which she played, of all things, Mr. Mushnik.

https://lithub.com/dispatches-from-this-years-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

Afterwards, I headed over to the booth belonging to New York City’s legendary children’s bookstore, Chelsea’s Books of Wonder, among whose many special rare volumes was a handwritten manuscript by Shel Silverstein.

And I made sure to stop by Honey and Wax Booksellers, among whose marvelous items included a French hot air balloon catalogue from 1879, and an invitation to the famous private afterparty following Walt Whitman’s lecture “The Death of Abraham Lincoln” from 1887.

https://lithub.com/dispatches-from-this-years-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

And of course, at the fair were countless first and rare editions, signed volumes, and other special ephemera from throughout literary history.

https://lithub.com/dispatches-from-this-years-new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair/

APRIL 19, 2022

The Critic’s Notebook On Pierre Le-Tan, antiquarian books, Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden,” Jerome Robbins & more from the world of culture.

By The Editors

A handwritten book of poetry composed by a thirteen-year-old Charlotte Brontë will be offered for sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Photo: James Cummins Bookseller.

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, at the Park Avenue Armory (April 21– 24): Nearly six hundred years after the invention of the printing press, the moment seems right for appreciating the book. This week the sixty-second edition of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Park Avenue Armory with some two hundred of the world’s finest dealers in rare books, maps, manuscripts, illustrations, and prints. Enjoy the history of the written word without a licensing agreement, planned obsolescence, or a charging station. Simply pick up and read. Tolle lege. —JP

https://newcriterion.com/blogs/dispatch/the-critics-notebook-12447

APRIL 23, 2022

Buy the book On the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory.

By Jane Coombs On Thursday, the sixty-second annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair opened at the Park Avenue Armory after a two-year hiatus. Nearly two hundred prominent book dealers have gathered in the building’s former drill hall, an eighty-foot-high, 55,000-square-foot space built by “the first volunteer militia to respond to President Lincoln’s call for troops in 1861,” as the Armory’s guidebook tells us. Most of the vendors have come from around the United States and Europe, though a few have flown in from as far as Argentina and Japan. The show is not unlike a rare books museum exhibition, except that, in most instances, visitors are actually encouraged to reach beneath the glass and flip through the books on display (and, hopefully, purchase them).

First editions of classics such as Great Expectations (Jonkers Rare Books, Henley-onThames), Anna Karenina (PY Rare Books, London), and Frankenstein (Whitmore Rare Books, Pasadena) are expected at a fair like this but still exciting to see in the flesh. (Alas, the last could only be removed from its case for “very certain people”; I was not one of them.) Other dealers, such as New York’s own Bauman Rare Books, present eclectic volumes you might have never heard of before. Among the most intriguing books on display, next to Thomas Jefferson’s personal copy of Advice to Shepherds and Owners of Flocks (1811) by Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton and a first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (1939), is an elegant volume of over one hundred drawings

by Jean Cocteau titled Dessins (1924).

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

First edition Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 1878, PY Rare Books.

Long before the French polymath directed the film Belle et la Bête (1945) or wrote the novel Les enfants terribles (1929), Cocteau was a poet, draftsman, and burgeoning playwright on the verge of an opium addiction. Dessins, which contains portraits of composers, dancers, and designers, reflects Cocteau’s involvement with Sergei Diaghliev’s Ballets Russes, for which he designed posters and wrote scenarios for several new works. One of Cocteau’s earliest successes came in 1917, when he conceptualized Parade, an avant-garde ballet scored by Erik Satie with costumes and sets by Pablo Picasso. A few years later, Cocteau dedicated Dessins to Picasso, writing, “Poets do not draw. They untie the knots in handwriting and then retie them differently.”

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

Erik Satie in Dessins by Jean Cocteau, 1924, Bauman Rare Books.

Despite this playful caveat, Dessins contains gorgeous drawings of many artistic figures including a bespectacled Satie and Léon Bakst, the set and costume designer of many important Diaghliev ballets, such as Le Spectre de la rose (1911) and Daphnis et Chloé (1912). Cocteau’s spare, looselined portraits evoke the style of the colored religious murals he completed later in life for his chapel in Milly-la-Forêt as well as for the church of Notre Dame de France in Covent Garden, London. Among the most amusing drawings in the book is a chaotic backstage scene featuring a pampered dancer (Nijinsky) being fanned with a towel and spied upon by Diaghliev through his famous monocle.

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

Illustration from Dessins by Jean Cocteau, 1924.

If Cocteau himself was recalled from the netherworld this weekend, he might be thrilled to see a handsome, green-bound first edition of Gluck’s opera score for Orphée et Euridice at the stand of the Parisian book dealer Librarie Lardanchet a few steps away. In 1774, the Bavarian-born composer was invited to Paris by his former student, Marie Antoinette, who ascended to the French throne later that year. In her honor, he reworked (and renamed) his 1762 opera Orfeo ed Euridice, which had premiered at the court of her mother, Empress Maria Theresa, in Vienna. The new version, sung in French instead of Italian, now contained the haunting—and deceptively simple— flute solo “Minuet and Dance of the Blessed Spirits,” which has become a staple of flute repertoire.

One of the most recognizable passages from the opera to modern listeners, the solo can be heard throughout countless Orpheus-themed works, including Cocteau’s supernatural film Orphée (1950), in which it plays repeatedly from a radio operated by the character Death.

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

First edition Orphée et Euridice by Gluck, 1774, Librarie Lardanchet.

There are not exclusively books on display. Also sprinkled throughout the stands are letters, maps, prints, and other, less easily categorized historical artifacts, such as a passport of John Ruskin from 1872 and an enormous thirteenth-century charter, royal seal still attached, of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (both Antiquariat Inlibris, Vienna). James Cummins Booksellers, also based in New York, are selling a never-before-seen 1958 photograph of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath in seeming good spirits after moving to Boston. On the back of the photograph is a handwritten note

by Plath to her parents, wishing them a happy New Year. Elsewhere, The Colossus and Other Poems (1960) her first volume of poetry, and the only book published under her name in her lifetime, is for sale (Bas Books, London) alongside a first-edition Bell Jar (1963).

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

A Book of Rhymes by Charlotte Brontë, 1829, James Cummins Booksellers.

Of course, most people at the James Cummins stand crowded around another object sitting its own, heavily guarded case: a tiny handwritten manuscript created by a thirteen-year-old Charlotte Brontë in December 1829. By then she had already experienced the deaths of her sisters Maria and Elizabeth, and had begun writing poetry and stories set in the fictional world of Gondal together with her siblings Anne, Emily, and Branwell, who had been pulled from disease-ridden schools to live at home. Open to the first page and titled “A Book of Ryhmes [sic] by Chrlotte Bronte [sic], Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself,” the manuscript contains unpublished verses written in a miniature script that the Brontë siblings may have created by writing beneath a magnifying glass.

Yesterday it was sold to an unknown buyer. Will it disappear forever, be donated to an American museum, or find its way back to the Brontë family parsonage, now a museum in Haworth? See it for yourself: the fair remains open through Sunday.

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/news/tiny-bronte-book-unseen-for-a-century-goes-onsale-in-new-york/75609/1

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THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022

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Front Burner FLORENCE FA BR I CAN T

square that’s worth considering for Mother’s Day for a food-loving or foraging recipient. It comes in a purple-brown they call port, or in black: Vintage Mushroom Scarf, $89, echonewyork.com.

TO APPRECIATE

Rare Culinary Tomes At This Book Fair Ben Kinmont, a rare book dealer from Sebastopol, Calif., will be at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair this week.

Among the books on display are “Ein künstlichs und nutz lichs Kochbüch” by Balthasar Staindl (1544), the fourth cookbook published in Germany, and “The Sesmaisons Cookery Manuscript,” in French from 1767. He also has the “Thackrey Library: An Archaeology of Pleasures,” a collection of 740 rare wine and food books and manuscripts. (Fortysix will be on display in New York.) That includes a sixthcentury account of the purchase of grape vines written on papyrus and books on viticulture and oenology dating from the 14th through 19th centuries. The entire Thackrey Library can be yours for $2 million: New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue (66th Street), Thursday 5 to 9 p.m., Friday noon to 8 p.m., Saturday noon to 7 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m., admission $30 and up ($10 for students), nyantiquarianbookfair.com, bknmont@gmail.com.

TO SIP

Bottled Cocktails, All Ready to Pour William Grant & Sons, the Scottish distilling company, has a

TO MARVEL

The Challah Prince To Discuss His Magic By the time Idan Chabasov (below) takes center stage at Temple Emanu-El’s Streicker Center, Passover will have ended and it will be time to talk of bread again. Mr. Chabasov, whose background is Sephardic, only came to

appreciate the traditional braided loaf as an adult, in Berlin. He is now known as the Challah Prince thanks to his baroque creations posted on Instagram. On Monday at 6 p.m., he will discuss and demonstrate challah making with Shannon Sarna, a cookbook author. Coming up at the Streicker Center on the Upper East Side on May 12, the topic will be the Zabar family and stores: Idan Chabasov is the Challah Prince, Monday at 6 p.m., in person and virtual, free with registration, Streicker Center, 1 East 65th Street, streicker.nyc.

TO SIZZLE

Spicy Linguiça Ready For Grilling Season

portfolio of brands like Hendrick’s Gin, Reyka Vodka, Glenfiddich and Monkey Shoulder Scotch. The company has come up with Batch & Bottle: ready-made cocktails in bottles, not cans, using top-shelf spirits. They’re neither gimmicky nor sweet but straightforward classics like a martini and a cosmopolitan with a whisper of rhubarb.

There is also a Scotch-based old fashioned and manhattan, for a different riff on tradition: Batch & Bottle, $15.78 to $19.99 for 375 milliliters (12.7 ounces), four to five drinks, batchandbottlecocktails.us.

TO GIVE

A Personal Wrap For a Food Lover Echo, a New York company that has been producing scarves and similar accessories for nearly 100 years, has plumbed its archives and reissued several designs of yore. Mushrooms richly border one of them, on a 35-inch silk

Heritage Foods now offers linguiça from the sausage maker the Mayor in Richmond, Va. The signature Portuguese sausage harbors the paprika spice of chorizo but with the fire dampened, and a finer texture, but it brings on the garlic like kielbasa.

It’s perfect right off the grill, or sizzled and sliced in thick coins in a mess of Little Neck clams steamed in olive oil with sweet and hot peppers. Kyle Morse, a

TO INDULGE

Herbaceous Chocolate Is Taking a Dark Turn Janet Mavec, a jewelry designer whose pieces are inspired by nature, works from her Bird Haven Farm and gardens in Pottersville, N.J., where the flowers, herbs and vegetables pose for her artistry, mostly in gold-plated brass. (The farm is open to visitors on select days.) But new to her line is chocolate: She uses lemon verbena that she cultivates to infuse bars of dark chocolate with delicate, aromatic floral notes. The chocolate is 72 percent cacao from the Dominican Republic and comes wrapped in pretty, leafy paper. It’s gift-worthy for Mother’s Day (don’t give just one): Bird Haven Farm Chocolate, $12 for 2.6-ounce bar, janetmavec.com.

MELISSA CLARK

chef who owns the Mayor, uses heritage pork shoulder for his sausage. The name linguiça derives from the Portuguese word for tongue (língua), but is thought to be a reference to only the shape: The Mayor Linguiça from Heritage Foods, $65 for three 12-ounce packages of two sausages each, heritagefoods.com.

BEN KINMONT BOOKSELLER (BOOKS); BATCH & BOTTLE (COCKTAILS); JANET MAVEC (CHOCOLATE); ECHO NEW YORK (SCARF); SHAI NEIBURG (CHABASOV); NICK QUESADA (SAUSAGE)

A GOOD APPETITE

Silky Spring Leeks Merit a Promotion Give them their place on the plate with a pungent sauce.

Topped with an olive-spiked salsa verde, it’s a dish both mellow and robust, where those sweet, overwintered leeks of spring can really shine.

AND TO DRINK . . .

I NEVER APPRECIATED leeks as a vegetable

— as opposed to an aromatic — until I ate them with vinaigrette in Paris during my college year abroad.

At a tiny cafe halfway between my studio apartment near Porte Saint-Martin and my best friend’s seventh-floor walk-up near the Seine, the two of us spent our evenings drinking carafes of red wine and working our way through the very classic menu: cheesy croque-madames, herby escargots, oeufs mayonnaise.

The leeks vinaigrette was the biggest surprise. The gentle leeks looked plain on the plate — pale, monochrome, unadorned by any herbs or garnishes — but they hit us right between the eyes. They were coated in a vinaigrette with so much spicy Dijon it made our sinuses burn; we couldn’t get enough. So we added even more from the mustard pot on the table, then wiped up the oily slicks with torn bits of baguette. It gave us fortitude for the long walk home through the cold Paris night.

Back in New York, I tried to make leeks vinaigrette with as much sharpness and vim, but it was hard to match the flavor. The mustard I could get didn’t have the same piercing bite.

Instead, to mimic that play of pungent and mild, I began pairing silky leeks with other zippy condiments and sauces. Salsa verde, with its mix of citrus, minced herbs and plenty of raw garlic, was a perfect partner, balancing the sweetness of the leeks with a bracing tanginess. Leeks salsa verde became a staple in my kitchen, a lively alternative to leeks vinaigrette.

In this more substantial variation, the leeks and salsa verde are rounded out with quick-cooking fish fillets.

I particularly like the mellowness of white fillets like cod, halibut or hake here, as they can really soak up the complexity and brightness of the salsa verde. But salmon or tuna would also work, lending more richness to the mix.

To make this as weeknight friendly as possible, I roast the fish and leeks together in one pan. As they cook, the leeks closest to the fillets absorb their liquid, turning soft and plush while the ones near the edges of the pan get pleasingly brown and crisp in spots.

ROASTED FISH WITH LEEKS AND OLIVE SALSA VERDE TIME: 30 MINUTES YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

For the Fish and Leeks: 4 thick fillets white fish, such as cod or halibut (about 1½ pounds total) Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 medium leeks, trimmed, white and light green parts halved lengthwise and rinsed well Extra-virgin olive oil For the Olive Salsa Verde: 1 lemon ½ cup coarsely chopped pitted Castelvetrano olives ½ cup chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems 1 garlic clove, finely grated, minced or pushed through a garlic press Large pinch of red-pepper flakes, or to taste Fine sea or table salt ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER TESTANI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES. FOOD STYLIST: MONICA PIERINI.

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Season fish all over with salt and pepper, and set aside while you prepare the leeks.

ERIC ASIMOV

2. Cut the leeks into matchsticks: Place a leek half, flat side down, on a cutting board and cut it in half crosswise. Then slice the pieces lengthwise into thin (¼-inch-thick) matchsticks. Repeat with remaining leeks.

3. Spread leeks out on a rimmed baking sheet.

Lightly drizzle them with oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Push aside the leeks to create 4 spaces in the center of the sheet pan just large enough for the fish fillets, then place the fillets in those cleared spaces.

(Avoid putting the fish on top of the leeks, which won’t cook as well if they’re covered.)

4. Drizzle fish with oil. Roast until the fish is opaque and just cooked through but not yet

White fish, like halibut and cod, tend to be neutral vehicles for accompanying sauces and other flavorings.

In this recipe, that includes the sweet-savory leeks and the zesty salsa verde. Both call for crisp white wines that are not oaky, with the lively acidity to cut through and complement the olives in the sauce. That would include Loire sauvignon blancs with herbal and citrus flavors rather than the more flamboyant New Zealand style, village Chablis or other restrained chardannays, and good albariños from northwestern Spain. You could also try a Corsican vermentinu, many good Italian whites and maybe even a grüner veltliner from Austria. If you have the taste for sherry, try a fino or manzanilla, which are made to go with olives and seafood.

flaky, about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of fish. The leeks surrounding the fish will be soft and silky, while those at the edges of the pan may turn delightfully brown and crisp in spots. If the fish is done but you think the leeks need a little more time, transfer the fish to a serving platter, tent with foil to keep warm, and continue to cook the leeks for another few minutes.

5. While the fish is in the oven, make the salsa

verde: Using a fine rasp grater, grate ½ teaspoon lemon zest into a small bowl. Halve the lemon and squeeze in 1 tablespoon juice.

6. Stir in olives, cilantro, garlic, red-pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Slowly drizzle in oil, stirring to combine. Taste and add more salt, red-pepper or another squeeze of lemon, if needed.

7. Place fish on plates and surround with leeks.

Top with olive salsa verde.

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

The Winter Show, Postponed Because of Omicron Surge, Sets April Dates One of New York City’s leading art fairs will be set on five floors of the former Barneys flagship location on Madison Avenue.

By Zachary Small

The Winter Show’s 68th edition will run from April 1 through April 10 inside the former flagship location of Barneys New York at 660 Madison Avenue, the art fair’s organizers announced Friday.

The fair, which benefits the East Side House Settlement, a nonprofit organization serving the Bronx and Northern Manhattan, had been postponed in December because of the surge of the coronavirus pandemic. (It had been slated to be held in January at the Park Avenue Armory.) The fair went virtual for its 2021 edition, and this year, it will be in person and include some online viewing rooms. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/arts/design/the-winter-show-sets-april-dates.html

“It was disappointing to postpone, but we knew it was the right decision,” Helen Allen, the executive director of the Winter Show, said in an interview.

“But there is nothing as good as seeing artworks in person, and we are thrilled to have found a new venue,” she added.

The fair established itself in the 1950s as a leading venue for antiques buyers and later broadened its scope to fine art and design. Dealers are vetted by a committee and typically produce richly decorated booths, which separate them from the simple white walls synonymous with the contemporary art market.

Allen said that the fair would be split across five floors inside the former department store and include 62 exhibitors. She said that while eight dealers who originally planned to attend the event had dropped out, they would participate in the fair virtually.

Also on Friday, the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair announced that it would open at the Park Avenue Armory, and run from April 21 through April 24, with nearly 200 exhibitors. The fair was postponed through 2021 because of the pandemic.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/arts/design/the-winter-show-sets-april-dates.html

MARCH 30, 2022

A Tiny Brontë Book, Lost for a Century, Resurfaces A miniature book made by the 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë, to go on sale next month for $1.25 million, contains what may be her last unknown poems.

By Jennifer Schuessler

A miniature book made by Charlotte Brontë at age 13, one of more than two dozen she created. It recently surfaced after being considered lost for more than a century.Credit...Clark Hodgin for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/arts/charlotte-bronte-book-discovery.html

The miniature books created by Charlotte Brontë and her siblings as children have long been objects of fascination for fans and deep-pocketed collectors. Initially created to entertain their toy soldiers, the tiny volumes reflected the rich imaginary world they created in the isolation of the family home on the moors of northern England, which fed into novels like Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre” and Emily’s “Wuthering Heights.”

Now, the last of the more than two dozen created by Charlotte to remain in private hands has surfaced, and will be coming up for sale next month.

“A Book of Rhymes,” a 15-page volume smaller than a playing card, was last seen at auction in 1916 in New York, where it sold for $520 before disappearing, its whereabouts — and even its survival — unknown. It will be unveiled on April 21, the opening night of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair and, as it happens, Brontë’s birthday. The asking price? A cool $1.25 million.

The book’s contents, one scholar said, are “the last unread poems by Charlotte Brontë.”Credit...Clark Hodgin for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/arts/charlotte-bronte-book-discovery.html

The book was stitched together by Charlotte Brontë, using thread textured like a tiny rope. Credit...Clark Hodgin for The New York Times

The titles of the 10 poems (including “The Beauty of Nature” and “On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel”) have long been known, thanks to the 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, which transcribed Brontë’s own handwritten catalog of her juvenilia. But the poems themselves have never been published, photographed, transcribed or even summarized.

And they’ll stay that way at least a little bit longer. One recent morning, Henry Wessells, a bookseller at the Manhattan firm James Cummins Bookseller (which is selling the book in partnership with the London-based firm Maggs Bros.) was eager to show off the tiny volume — on the condition its contents not be quoted or described.

“The eventual purchaser will be able to steward them into publication, which will be a red-letter day for Brontë scholarship,” he said. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/arts/charlotte-bronte-book-discovery.html

Wessells, a 25-year veteran of the book trade, has handled many remarkable things over the years, including the archives of the New York Review of Books and a flag flown by T.E. Lawrence and the victorious Arab rebels at the Battle of Aqaba in 1917. But the unassuming hand-stitched bundle of Brontë paper, is “a once-in-a-career item.”

Henry Wessells, in the Manhattan office of the firm James Cummins Bookseller, has sold many remarkable items over the years. But his latest find is a “a once-in-a-career item.”Credit...Clark Hodgin for The New York Times

“It’s thrilling to be part of the history of English literature, one link in the chain,” he said. “And there’s also just the joy of actually having it on my desk. The more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes.”

There have been plenty of dramatic red-letter days in Brontë scholarship of late. Last year, a large “lost” library of Brontë manuscripts and other literary artifacts that had been virtually unseen for https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/arts/charlotte-bronte-book-discovery.html

a century surfaced suddenly and was put up for auction. After an outcry, the auction was postponed, and the collection was acquired intact for $20 million by an unusual consortium of libraries and museums, to be preserved for the British public.

And in 2019, the Brontë Parsonage Museum raised nearly $800,000 to buy a miniature magazine made by Charlotte that came up for auction after the French commercial venture that owned it went bankrupt.

The miniature microvolumes had remained in the Brontë family until the 1890s, when they were dispersed, along with many other manuscripts and artifacts, after the death of the second wife of Charlotte’s widower. Today, all the other tiny books made by Charlotte are in institutional collections, including the Morgan Library & Museum in New York.

A table of contents at the back lists the titles of the poems, which were also cited in Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1857 biography. Credit...Clark Hodgin for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/arts/charlotte-bronte-book-discovery.html

“The Book of Rhymes” (or “ryhmes,” as Charlotte spelled it on the title page), Wessells said, had survived tucked in a letter size envelope stashed inside a 19th-century schoolbook in what he described as “an American private collection.” (He declined to say more about the owner, citing a confidentiality agreement.)

In his office, he opened the envelope, which was labeled “Brontë manuscript,” and in the upper left corner, “most valuable.” Then he pulled out the book, which was folded inside a copy of an old auction listing.

The book was made of cheap, drab brown paper, unevenly trimmed and sewn together with thread, “textured like a tiny rope,” as Wessels put it.

He turned to the back to show the table of contents, with Charlotte’s explanation that the poems are credited to two imaginary authors in the fictional world, “Marquis of Duro & Lord Charles Wellesley,” but actually “written by me.”

He then flipped to the title page, flipping it over to read a disclaimer on the reverse: “The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged but they are nevertheless my best.”

And finally, he slowly turned the pages, to allow a tantalizing glimpse of the poems, reiterating that the contents were off the record.

The book’s whereabouts were unknown after 1916, when it sold for $520 at an auction in New York. Wessells said it was “rediscovered” in a private collection, inside an envelope tucked into a 19th-century schoolbook.Credit...Clark Hodgin for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/arts/charlotte-bronte-book-discovery.html

No worries there. The microscopic handwriting, intended to mimic the printed fonts of a “real” book, was impossible to read at a quick glance without a magnifying glass.

The poems — some long, some short, sometimes with crossed-out words and corrections — were each dated and signed or initialed “C.B.” Wessells described them as “of different styles and meters” (including a sonnet, listed on the table of contents as “A Thing of fourteen lines”), but declined to offer any “literary evaluation.”

Claire Harman, a Brontë scholar who also viewed the manuscript in Wessells’ office, said she could decipher a few snippets of the poems, which she called “the last unread poems by Charlotte Brontë” And depending on the desires of the buyer, she noted, “they may stay that way.” (Wessells said future plans for the manuscript may be “one factor” in identifying “an appropriate buyer.”)

The poems seemed “very charming” she said, despite Brontë’s disclaimer. As for the handwriting, she said, “it’s like a mouse has been writing this,” comparing the experience of reading the Brontë miniature books to Alice’s growing and shrinking in “Alice in Wonderland.”

“They’re like portals into a different world,” she said. “You go in, and you come out the other side.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/arts/charlotte-bronte-book-discovery.html

APRIL 18, 2022

Rare Culinary Tomes at the International Antiquarian Book Fair The dealer Ben Kinmont’s holdings will display a collection of 50 rare wine and food books and manuscripts.

By Florence Fabricant

“The Sesmaisons Cookery Manuscript,” in French from 1767.Credit...via Ben Kinmont Bookseller

Ben Kinmont, a rare book dealer from Sebastopol, Calif., will be at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair this week. Among the books he will have on display are “Ein künstlichs und nutz lichs Kochbüch” by Balthasar Staindl (1544), the fourth cookbook ever published in Germany, and “The Sesmaisons Cookery Manuscript,” in French from 1767. He also has the “Thackrey Library: An Archaeology of Pleasures,” a collection of 740 rare wine and food books and manuscripts. (Forty-six will be on display in New York.) That includes a sixth century account of the purchase of grape vines written on papyrus and books on viticulture and oenology dating from the 14th through 19th centuries. The entire Thackrey Library can be yours for $2 million.

New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue (66th Street), Thursday 5 to 9 p.m., Friday noon to 8 p.m., Saturday noon to 7 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m., admission $30 and up ($10 for students), nyantiquarianbookfair.com, bknmont@gmail.com. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/dining/international-antiquarian-book-fair.html

APRIL 25, 2022

A Tiny Brontë Book, Sold for $1.25 Million, to Return Home A miniature book by the 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë, containing perhaps her last unseen poems, has been purchased by a charity and will be donated to the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

By Jennifer Schuessler

“A Book of Rhymes.” a tiny book of poetry made by the 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë, recently resurfaced after nearly a century.Credit...Clark Hodgin for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/arts/design/charlotte-bronte-book-of-rhymes.html

The last of the two dozen miniature books made by the young Charlotte Brontë to remain in private hands, which resurfaced last month after nearly a century, will soon be heading home to the remote parsonage on the moors of northern England where it was made.

“A Book of Rhymes,” which contains 10 previously unpublished poems by the 13-year-old Brontë, was a star attraction over the weekend at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, where it was offered for $1.25 million. At the fair’s preview last Thursday, a red dot indicating it had been sold appeared on the label inside the specially constructed display case, setting off speculations about the buyer.

On Monday, it was revealed that the buyer is the Friends of the National Libraries, a British charity, which is donating it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire, home to one of the world’s largest collections of Brontë manuscripts. Ann Dinsdale, the museum’s chief curator, said in a statement that she was “absolutely thrilled” by the turn of events. “It is always emotional when an item belonging to the Brontë family is returned home and this final little book coming back to the place where it was written after being thought lost is very special for us,” she said. According to a news release, the book will be put on public display and also digitized, making poems that have been virtually unseen since they were written accessible to readers around the world.

The miniature books and magazines created by the young Charlotte. Emily, Anne and Branwell Brontë in the 1820s have long been objects of fascination for ordinary people and deep-pocketed collectors alike. Initially created to entertain their toy soldiers (and sewn together from sugar packets, wallpaper scraps and other stray bits of paper), the tiny volumes reflected the rich imaginary world they created in the isolation of the family home, which fed into novels like Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre” and Emily’s “Wuthering Heights.”

“A Book of Rhymes,” a 15-page volume smaller than a playing card made it 1829, was last seen at auction in 1916 in New York, where it sold for $520. It then disappeared from view, its whereabouts — and even its survival — unknown. The titles of the 10 poems inside had been listed in the 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell. But the poems themselves have never been published, photographed, transcribed or even summarized, making them what some scholars say are the last of her unread poems.

The news of its resurfacing sparked fears that the book might disappear into another private collection. The dealers James Cummins Booksellers and Maggs Bros., who were selling the book on behalf of an unidentified private collector, offered it first to the Friends of the National Libraries, giving them several weeks to raise the purchase price. (Funds were raised from more than nine donors, including the Garfield Weston Foundation and the T.S. Eliot Estate.)

The purchase is just the latest dramatic save by the group. Last year, it raised $20 million to preserve the Honresfield Library, a famous “lost” library of rare books and manuscripts relating to the Brontës, Robert Burns, Walter Scott and others, which had been set for dispersal at auction at Sotheby’s.

The items from that trove will be distributed to a number of libraries and museums, including the Brontë parsonage. The parsonage already owns nine miniature books by the children, which will soon be joined with seven more from the Honresfield Library, in addition to Charlotte’s “Book of Rhymes.” At $1.25 million, the 3.8 x 2.5-inch “Book of Rhymes” is, inch for inch, “possibly the most valuable literary manuscript ever sold,” the news release boasted. And its literary quality?

On the reverse of the title page, Charlotte offered a modest disclaimer: “The following are attempts at rhyming of an inferior nature it must be acknowledged, but they are nevertheless my best.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/arts/design/charlotte-bronte-book-of-rhymes.html

APRIL 23, 2022

Charlotte Brontë’s Book of Rhymes sells for $1.25m

By Will Pavia

A Book of Rhymes is now on display at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair TIMOTHY A CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

On the title page of her Book of Rhymes, a teenage Charlotte Brontë mimicked the usual grand declarations by publishers, saying that it was “printed by herself” and “sold by nobody”.

This is no longer true. Not quite two centuries later, the book Brontë made at the age of 13, no larger than a playing card, has just sold for $1.25 million (£974,000).

The book, dated December 14, 1829, was last seen in public in New York in 1916, said Henry Wessells, of James Cummins Booksellers, standing before a large glass case where the tiny book was on display, like a holy relic. “It was recently rediscovered in a private collection,” he said.

“It’s absolutely a wonder that it survived at all.” The writing

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/charlotte-brontes-book-of-rhymes-sells-for-1-25mh6l7spsx2

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/charlotte-brontes-book-of-rhymes-sells-for-1-25mh6l7spsx2

MAY 2, 2022

Book Club

By Ron Charles

A first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” in its original dust-jacket is being offered for sale by the Manhattan Rare Books Company for $175,000 at the 62nd Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America's New York International Antiquarian Book Fair in the Park Avenue Armory through April 24, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Andrey & Melissa Public Relations) My colleague Michael Dirda says book collectors like him “only regret our economies, never our extravagances.” Keep that advice in mind if you can get to the International Antiquarian Book Fair, which opened yesterday in New York (details).

The fair, with almost 200 exhibitors from around the world, offers treasures approaching the lost library of Alexandria – and with prices fit for an Egyptian pharaoh. You could, for instance, nab a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” for about $360,000.

https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camprw/?trackId=5980c5dfae7e8a6816fa41a6&s=6262b918956121755a47fc0b&linknum=4&linkto t=99

For something a little more out of this world, consider a first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” in its original dust jacket for $175,000.

If you’re still looking for the perfect present for Shakespeare’s birthday, may I recommend a first edition of “Romeo e Giulietta,” printed on handmade paper and illustrated with gouache paintings

by Salvador Dalí? The Bard didn’t sign this 1975 treasure, but the Spanish painter did, and it can be yours for just $126,700.

Other items for sale reportedly include a first illustrated edition of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” a copy of the first U.S. edition of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” and a document signed and fingerprinted by Gandhi ($850,000). The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair runs through April 24 (general admission $30; students $10).

https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camprw/?trackId=5980c5dfae7e8a6816fa41a6&s=6262b918956121755a47fc0b&linknum=4&linkto t=99

Find Rare Books & Historical Artifact at This Antique NYC Book Fair The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is back in April for its 62nd edition.

MARCH 30, 2022

By Serena Tara

Photo by Meredith Nierman Photography, courtesy of The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

Calling all book fans and history buffs across New York City: a major antiquarian book fair just announced its 2022 dates. https://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-openingapril

The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is coming back from April 21 through April 24 at Manhattan's Park Avenue Armory, where nearly 200 exhibitors from around the world will showcase a treasure trove of antiques in a massive, in-person event. Representing 14 different countries like Japan, Italy, and Czech Republic, stands will display items such as manuscripts, rare books, ancient historical records, and prints.

The many valuable items of note will span from much sought-after first editions of books to historical records and objects. Among many others, this year's fair boasts a first edition copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus and rare editions of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights, as well as the first photo of the Earth from the moon and a prized note written by Abraham Lincoln.

Photo by Meredith Nierman Photography, courtesy of The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

Art, science, medicine, history, and fashion are only some of the fields the fair will encompass through its antiquarian booksellers. Attendees and collectors alike will be able to peruse all kinds of century-old documents and books, the values of which range from an accessible price point of $50 up to millions of dollars.

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the fair's organizers are excited for the in-person event. "We're thrilled and very fortunate that we are able to hold the book fair in person this year, returning to the Park Avenue Armory after two years without one," said Sanford Smith, the Founder of Sanford L. Smith + Associates, who produces and manages the fair. "We expect this to be a highlight of the New York spring arts calendar. We're also anticipating a great turnout with exhibitors and visitors from around the world who are eager to experience some of the incredible offerings we have in store this year." https://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-openingapril

This year marks the 62nd edition of the fair, which will host 99 new booksellers at its Park Avenue Armory location. A full list of participating booksellers can be found here. Daily admissions are $30, and students showing a valid ID at the door can get a discounted ticket for $10. For more information, you can visit the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair website.

https://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/new-york-international-antiquarian-book-fair-openingapril

APRIL 7, 2022

Antiquarian Book Fair

Photograph: courtesy of New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

Time Out says Now in its 62nd year, this festival for book collectors convenes at Park Avenue Armory for a full weekend of first editions, maps, manuscripts and other treasures from literary epochs past from more than 200 exhibitors. The event, which is in person this year, is much anticipated in a time when most of us want to get away from screens and back into print books and ephemera. Some highlights include the first illustrated edition and third overall edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; the first U.S. edition of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights; a collection of printed labels from the French perfumery L.T. Piver with original watercolor models; a section of a dress stained with blood from President Abraham Lincoln; several Stephen Sondheim items; and a collection of works by El Pintor created during World War II. We're excited to peruse the booths!

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/antiquarian-book-fair

APRIL 6, 2022

NYC Events In April 2022

By Shaye Weaver

Photograph: courtesy of New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

6. Grab tickets to the Antiquarian Book Fair Now in its 62nd year, this festival for book collectors convenes at Park Avenue Armory for a full weekend of first editions, maps, manuscripts and other treasures from literary epochs past from more than 200 exhibitors. The event, which is in person this year, is much anticipated in a time when most of us want to get away from screens and back into print books and ephemera. Some highlights include the first illustrated edition and third overall edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; the first U.S. edition of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights; a collection of printed labels from the French perfumery L.T. Piver with original watercolor models; a section of a dress stained with blood from President Abraham Lincoln; several Stephen Sondheim items; and a collection of works by El Pintor created during World War II. We're excited to peruse the booths!

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/events-calendar/april-events-calendar

APRIL 21, 2022

The best things to do in NYC this weekend The best things to do in NYC this weekend include Earth Day events, the Antiquarian Book Fair and Flipper's Roller Rink at Rockefeller Center.

By Shaye Weaver

Photograph: courtesy of New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

Looking for the best things to do in NYC this weekend? Whether you're the group planner searching for more things to do in NYC today, or you have no plans yet, here are some ideas to add to your list for this weekend. Go roller skating in the middle of Rockefeller Center, see the new Basquiat exhibit or go to the New York Antiquarian Book Fair! All you have to do is scroll down to plan your weekend!

And if you're not sure where you need to wear a mask, find out here.

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/things-to-do-in-nyc-this-weekend

2. Antiquarian Book Fair Now in its 62nd year, this festival for book collectors convenes at Park Avenue Armory for a full weekend of first editions, maps, manuscripts and other treasures from literary epochs past from more than 200 exhibitors. The event, which is in person this year, is much anticipated in a time when most of us want to get away from screens and back into print books and ephemera. Some highlights include the first illustrated edition and third overall edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; the first U.S. edition of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights; a collection of printed labels from the French perfumery L.T. Piver with original watercolor models; a section of a dress stained with blood from President Abraham Lincoln; several Stephen Sondheim items; and a collection of works by El Pintor created during World War II. We're excited to peruse the booths!

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/things-to-do-in-nyc-this-weekend

APRIL 22, 2022

UK 1st Impression Hobbit For Sale - NYC Book Fair

By LanceFormation I was at the New York City Antiquarian Book Fair last night for the preview and Lucius Books (York, UK) had a 1937 1st Impression Hobbit with a rather rough jacket for sale at $60,000…just in case anyone with some spare change might be looking for a copy.

(FYI, it could possibly be reserved by now…)

https://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=38897

MAY 2, 2022

The 62nd Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF)

By James Nova April 21-24, 2022, Park Avenue Press Preview/Opening night gala: April 21.

Armory,

Manhattan

NYC

After two years in COVID quarantine, the eagerly-anticipated and essential book fair returned to its traditional venue in style. A mix of masked book collectors and curators and just the curious perused the mind-boggling array of items on offer at the booths of the nearly 200 exhibitors from around the world. Available for both ogling and carefully-monitored fondling were rare books (frequently one-of-a-kind), antique maps, and historical documents to author-signed first editions and gifted copies with celebrity autograph dedications.

https://nytcap.tumblr.com/post/682706166179086336/the-62nd-annual-abaa-new-yorkinternational

Some top-dollar items include the iconic “Earthrise” photo taken from the moon’s orbit by Apollo astronauts and a collection of 007 movie scripts and ephemera, both of which have asking prices of several hundred thousand dollars.

Also available were many fine illustrated materials, screen prints, illuminated manuscripts, rare prints and print ephemera.

https://nytcap.tumblr.com/post/682706166179086336/the-62nd-annual-abaa-new-yorkinternational

For the less well-heeled collector, there were many affordable items, such as pulp paperbacks (many whose main value was their outrageous or sleazy cover art), vintage ads, magazines, posters, board games, photographs and quirky oddities.

https://nytcap.tumblr.com/post/682706166179086336/the-62nd-annual-abaa-new-yorkinternational

Rarely cited as one of the fair’s great attractions are the dozens of fascinating conversations that one can have with so many knowledgeable folks on hand.

I will admit to only spending $15 at the fair, and that did not include any trips to the cash bar, where non-wine drinkers were forced to go for champagne, beer, or cocktails. Shame on y'all for using disposable plastic cups, though. You lose major carbon credits for that enviro-blunder. The lavish-looking buffet was complimentary, but alas, strictly for carnivores. Being somewhat outof-practice in making the event rounds (while waiting for Mayor Adam’s full NYC recovery to arrive) I neglected to bring along emergency snacks and pack my hip flask.

https://nytcap.tumblr.com/post/682706166179086336/the-62nd-annual-abaa-new-yorkinternational

APRIL 29, 2022

The 62nd Annual International Antiquarian Book Fair

The 62nd Annual International Antiquarian Book Fair took place in New York this past week, showcasing some of the world's oldest manuscripts and books. We caught up with Sanford Smith, the Book Fair's owner and organiser.

https://www.facebook.com/Breakfaston1/videos/364759922377370/

APRIL 26, 2022

2 milioni di dollari per un collezione esclusiva di vino. Non da bere, ma “da leggere” A tanto è stata venduta, a New York, la “The Thackrey Library”, una delle più ricche raccolte di libri antichi sul vino

Un’illustrazione dal “De Vinis” di Arnaldo da Villanova (1530)

2 milioni di dollari per un collezione esclusiva di vino. Non da bere o da far invecchiare, questa volta, ma da leggere. A tanto, riporta “Wine Spectator”, è stata venduta la “The Thackrey Library”, una delle più rinomate e complete collezioni private di libri sul vino, messa insieme, negli anni, dall’enologo californiano Sean Thackrey.

https://winenews.it/it/2-milioni-di-dollari-per-un-collezione-esclusiva-di-vino-non-da-berema-da-leggere_467887/

A concludere l’affare, nei giorni scorsi, alla “New York International Antiquarian Book Fair”, il mercante di libri Ben Kinmont, specializzato in testi antichi legati all’enogastronomia. Una collezione davvero ricca, con testi e manoscritti che risalgono al sesto secolo dopo cristo (una ricevuta per l’acquisto di vino scritta su papiro), e tante delle più importanti opere della storia della letteratura enoica, incluse tre edizioni (1530, 1532, 1585) del “De Vinis” di Arnaldo da Villanova, considerato il primo libro stampato sul vino, ma anche il “De naturali vinorum historia” del 1596 di Andrea Baccio, per nominare due pietre miliari tra gli oltre 700 volumi della collezione. Che, in parte, è consultabile anche on line.

https://winenews.it/it/2-milioni-di-dollari-per-un-collezione-esclusiva-di-vino-non-da-berema-da-leggere_467887/

APRIL 22, 2022

How Much Is a Wine Book Collection Worth? $2 Million, Maybe …

Veteran California winemaker Sean Thackrey’s assemblage of more than 700 historic wine reference books and manuscripts dating to the 6th century goes on sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair

By Collin Dreizen

A rare 1826 first edition of Dufour's The American Vine-Dresser's Guide is among the treasures of the Thackrey Library. (Courtesy of Ben Kinmont Bookseller)

We love books about wine. And many of us are quite proud of our wine reference collections, but few libraries hold a decanting candle to that of California winemaker Sean Thackrey. He’s been compiling wine-related books and manuscripts for decades, and now his massive collection of more than 700 tomes and documents— which date to as early as the 6th century—is up for sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

Asking price: $2 million. (Update: Bookseller Ben Kinmont reports that the Thackrey Library has sold for $2 million.)

https://www.winespectator.com/articles/how-much-is-a-wine-book-collection-worth-2million-maybe

“Any institution [that] purchased this would put themselves on the map as one of the most important places in the world to come research the history of wine,” Sonoma-based antiquarian bookseller Ben Kinmont told Wine Spectator. Kinmont, a specialist in wine- and food-related texts, has been working with Thackrey to curate and sell the library. “[It’s] of immense significance, because it has so many early-printed books, so many books that [were] printed before the year 1600.”

The Thackrey Library is one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of wine texts. Of course, it represents a great deal more to the man who assembled it. Thackrey has been consulting his collection for decades as a guide to growing grapes and making wine. According to Kinmont, only one other winemaker has assembled such a collection in the past 150 years: Inglenook founder Gustave Niebaum. “I think the reason [Thackrey] didn’t sell it before is that he was still using the collection,” Kinmont said. “A collection such as Sean’s can be an incredible source of information for winemakers today to reconsider their own craft.” But it isn’t just about wine for Thackrey; as Kinmont explained, the collection is deeply important to him as a broader testament to the progress of human civilization.

This 6th century papyrus leaf indicates the sale of grapevines from a monastery to a local farmer in Egypt. (Courtesy of Ben Kinmont Bookseller)

The Thackrey Library’s oldest document is a 6th century papyrus receipt for vines, and among the approximately 50 pieces Kinmont is displaying at the fair are a 14th century illuminated leaf of a man stomping grapes, a 15th century edition of Arnaldus de Villanova’s De Vinis (one of the first significant works on winemaking) and several 16th century manuscripts previously owned by wine merchant and writer André Simon. If you won’t be attending the fair or dropping $2 million on the collection, Thackrey has helpfully transcribed some of his library, viewable at his website, wine-maker.net.

“We will be exhibiting and showing things that have never, ever been seen before at a fair or even in any exhibition,” Kinmont said. “Some of the books are so rare that this will be my one chance in my lifetime to handle them and see them.”

https://www.winespectator.com/articles/how-much-is-a-wine-book-collection-worth-2million-maybe

APRIL 15, 2022

故アレキサンダー・マックイーンの24歳当 時の履歴書を保有者が売却へ 提示価格は 12万円 ROSEMARY FEITELBERG 訳・ ソーン マヤ

ショーン・リーン（左）と、故アレキサンダー・マックイーン © FAIRCHILD PUBLISHING, LLC

「アレキサンダー・マックイーン（ALEXANDER McQUEEN）」創業デザイナーの故 リー・アレキサンダー・マックイーン（Lee Alexander McQueen）の履歴書が、4月21〜 24日に開催されるニューヨークのインターナショナル・アンティクワリアン・ブックフ ェア（New York International Antiquarian Book Fair）で売却される。提示価格は1000ドル （約12万4000円）。

https://www.wwdjapan.com/articles/1352705

同履歴書は1992〜93年ごろ、マックイーン氏が24歳当時に書いたと見られている。同氏 の友人兼ミューズであり、最初のパブリシストであったアリス・スミス（Alice Smith） が保有していたもの。タイプライターで作成されており、「個人情報」「学歴」「職歴 」などの欄がある。ファッション業界の“異端児”として成功を収めたのち、40歳で自死 した同氏の貴重な遺品となっている。 職歴については、セントラル・セント・マーチンズ（Central Saint Martins）卒業後の 84〜90年にかけて5つの会社で見習いをしたことも記載されている。サヴィル・ロウの テーラー「アンダーソン＆シェパード（ANDERSON AND SHEPPARD）」での経験に ついて綴る際には、“カルバン・クライン（Calvin Klein）”を“Calvin Kline”と、“Their”を ”There”とスペルミスをするなど意外な一面も見られる。 趣味についても書かれており、写真集の古本や、60〜70年代のカルト映画が好きだと いう情報も。また、実際には69年3月17日生まれだが、履歴書には68年生まれと書かれ ているのも興味深いところだろう。

https://www.wwdjapan.com/articles/1352705

APRIL 14, 2022

An Alexander McQueen Curriculum Vitae to Be Sold The designer’s career started out with apprenticeships on Savile Row.

By Rosemary Feitelberg

Shaun Leane and Lee Alexander McQueen COURTESY PHOTO

READING BETWEEN THE LINES: The genius and mystique of Lee Alexander McQueen never seems to wane, and soon devotees will have another piece of memorabilia to cull what they will from it. Believed to have been created in 1992 or 1993, an original curriculum vitae that McQueen drafted at the age of 24 will be sold at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The fair will be held from April 21 to 24 at the Park Avenue Armory on the Upper East Side.

https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/an-alexander-mcqueen-curriculum-vitae-tobe-sold-1235160038/

The handtyped CV may come across as a little antiquated, given the digital age, and the reality that the designer ever needed one could make others pause. His CV is from the Alexander McQueen collection of Alice Smith, who was his friend, muse and first publicist. The designer died by suicide at the age of 40 in 2010.

McQueen spelled out some of his career highlights under such headers as “Personal Details,” “Education” and “Employment.” Those, who only know McQueen as the master maverick that he was in fashion with his namesake label, could be surprised to learn about his studious approach.

The CV has an asking price of $1,000 and is being sold at the fair by the Brooklyn-based book seller Schubertiade Music. The company is opening a retail space in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, this summer.

From September 1984 until November 1990, he apprenticed with five different companies. After earning a master of fine arts in fashion design from Central Saint Martins School of Art, he started what would be four years on Savile Row and a post in Milan. His first stop was in the fall of 1984 at Anderson and Sheppard, before moving on to Gieves and Hawkes in July 1987. The creative later joined Bermans & Nathans in October 1988 and set out for Koji Tatsuno Ltd. 13 months later.

There, he started out in a tailoring job that turned out to be a pattern cutter’s post. Responsible for Tatsuno’s made-to-measure clients, McQueen noted, “Unfortunately, due to arm. Yohji Yamamoto withdrawing all financial help, all ten members off [sic] staff were made redundant.”

Not as fastidious about typos as he was about his designs, McQueen wrote of learning the fundamentals of bespoke tailoring at Anderson and Sheppard Ltd. where the company had “a world wide reputation for the softest jackets in the world and includes HRH Prince of Wales and Calvin Kline [sic] as there [sic] customers for whom I have had the pleasure of making for.”

By February 1990, McQueen was freelancing for the Milan-based at Romeo Gigli in another post.

Highlighting how that post was solely for the purpose of creating “New Shapes” for Gigli’s main collections for men and women, McQueen noted in his résumé how the womenswear was cut by using a 16th-century method that had be devised in France. He explained that he learned the technique from an “old antiquarian book” that had been given to him by his employer at Bermans and Nathans.

McQueen’s CV detailed how he was employed by Romeo Gigli on a freelance basis “and thought it unwise to return to Italy, during his brake [sic] with Carla Sozzani in October 1990. However, I did continue to work for him from London.”

McQueen went on to the pinnacle of fashion, serving as the chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 before starting his own company. He racked up the British Designer of the Year award four times and the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Designer of the Year award in 2003.

In the CV, McQueen noted how his personal interests included collecting new and antiquarian photography books and that he also liked cult and avant-garde cinema from the 1960s and the late 1970s. Interestingly, it lists the year of his birth as 1968, despite having been born on March 17, 1969.

https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/an-alexander-mcqueen-curriculum-vitae-tobe-sold-1235160038/

APRIL 21, 2022

Rare tiny Brontë book could set $1.25m sale record

By Bernd Debusmann Jr

A tiny book created by Charlotte Brontë worth $1.25m (£957,393) is among the items for sale at what is being billed the "world's finest antiquarian book fair". Also on offer are a guide to tennis published in 1555, handwritten notes from the world's first atom bomb test and Amy Winehouse's library. The four-day fair in New York is expected to fetch fortunes for dealers.

Booksellers say sales have spiked in recent years. The 2022 New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is the 61st edition of the event, which is being held at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan. Ahead of the event, much of the buzz has centred around a recently rediscovered miniature book written by English novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë when she was just 13 in 1829. The event will mark the first time the book is unveiled publicly since a 1916 auction.

Owning a piece of history, however, isn't cheap. The book's seller is asking for $1.25m (£957,393), believed to be the highest ever for a female author. The previous record was set just last year when a first edition of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' sold for $1.17m in September.

Brontë's book is far from the only eye-catching item.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/sale-tiny-book-charlotte-bront-152126230.html

A collection of wine books dating as far back as the 1500s put together by wine maker Sean Thackrey, for example, is going on sale for $2m, while a set of 800 books and manuscripts detailing hundreds of years of environmental and climate studies listed for $2.5m.

A book believed to be the world's first guide to tennis written by an Italian priest in 1555 ($45,000) and a rare early edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' priced at approximately $360,000 will also be on offer.

The more contemporary collections on sale include a set of diagrams and notes from a medical group participating in the world's first atomic bomb tests in 1945 - including the first mention of a "mushroom cloud" - and a collection of over 200 books once owned by the late British singer Amy Winehouse.

The fair is being held between 21 April and 24 April. Even as retail sales struggled throughout the first two years of the pandemic, book sales have spiked, with the Association of American publishers reporting that 172 new independent bookstores opened in the US 2021 alone.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/sale-tiny-book-charlotte-bront-152126230.html

APRIL 14, 2022

An Alexander McQueen Curriculum Vitae to Be Sold

By Rosemary Feitelberg

READING BETWEEN THE LINES: The genius and mystique of Lee Alexander McQueen never seems to wane, and soon devotees will have another piece of memorabilia to cull what they will from it. Believed to have been created in 1992 or 1993, an original curriculum vitae that McQueen drafted at the age of 24 will be sold at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The fair will be held from April 21 to 24 at the Park Avenue Armory on the Upper East Side.

The handtyped CV may come across as a little antiquated, given the digital age, and the reality that the designer ever needed one could make others pause. His CV is from the Alexander McQueen collection of Alice Smith, who was his friend, muse and first publicist. The designer died by suicide at the age of 40 in 2010.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/alexander-mcqueen-curriculum-vitae-sold212207658.html?guccounter=1

McQueen spelled out some of his career highlights under such headers as “Personal Details,” “Education” and “Employment.” Those, who only know McQueen as the master maverick that he was in fashion with his namesake label, could be surprised to learn about his studious approach.

The CV has an asking price of $1,000 and is being sold at the fair by the Brooklyn-based book seller Schubertiade Music. The company is opening a retail space in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, this summer.

From September 1984 until November 1990, he apprenticed with five different companies. After earning a master of fine arts in fashion design from Central Saint Martins School of Art, he started what would be four years on Savile Row and a post in Milan. His first stop was in the fall of 1984 at Anderson and Sheppard, before moving on to Gieves and Hawkes in July 1987. The creative later joined Bermans & Nathans in October 1988 and set out for Koji Tatsuno Ltd. 13 months later.

There, he started out in a tailoring job that turned out to be a pattern cutter’s post. Responsible for Tatsuno’s made-to-measure clients, McQueen noted, “Unfortunately, due to arm. Yohji Yamamoto withdrawing all financial help, all ten members off [sic] staff were made redundant.”

Not as fastidious about typos as he was about his designs, McQueen wrote of learning the fundamentals of bespoke tailoring at Anderson and Sheppard Ltd. where the company had “a world wide reputation for the softest jackets in the world and includes HRH Prince of Wales and Calvin Kline [sic] as there [sic] customers for whom I have had the pleasure of making for.”

By February 1990, McQueen was freelancing for the Milan-based at Romeo Gigli in another post.

Highlighting how that post was solely for the purpose of creating “New Shapes” for Gigli’s main collections for men and women, McQueen noted in his résumé how the womenswear was cut by using a 16th-century method that had be devised in France. He explained that he learned the technique from an “old antiquarian book” that had been given to him by his employer at Bermans and Nathans.

McQueen’s CV detailed how he was employed by Romeo Gigli on a freelance basis “and thought it unwise to return to Italy, during his brake [sic] with Carla Sozzani in October 1990. However, I did continue to work for him from London.”

McQueen went on to the pinnacle of fashion, serving as the chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 before starting his own company. He racked up the British Designer of the Year award four times and the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Designer of the Year award in 2003.

In the CV, McQueen noted how his personal interests included collecting new and antiquarian photography books and that he also liked cult and avant-garde cinema from the 1960s and the late 1970s. Interestingly, it lists the year of his birth as 1968, despite having been born on March 17, 1969.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/alexander-mcqueen-curriculum-vitae-sold212207658.html?guccounter=1

APRIL 21, 2022

New York antique book fair: Tiny Charlotte Bronte manuscript for sale

A miniature book, unseen for more than a century, has gone on sale in New York. It is part of a major book fair, that is showcasing everything from novels to maps, even handwritten notes, as long as they are old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dPCvv6Cebw

MAY 7, 2022

Meet the New Old Book Collectors A growing cohort of young enthusiasts is helping to shape the future of an antique trade.

Kendall Spencer, an apprentice at DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books, at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

Late last month, during the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, Rebecca Romney withdrew a copy of “Howl, Kaddish, and Other Poems,” by Allen Ginsberg from her booth’s display case. She did so not to recite from its pages but to show off the writing in the margins.

Amy Winehouse had puzzled out lyrics to an unrecorded song alongside Ginsberg’s lines. “You see her artistic process,” Ms. Romney said. “And it’s right next to someone else’s art that she was consuming while creating something new.” The Ginsberg text is the centerpiece of Ms. Winehouse’s 220-book collection, which Ms. Romney’s company, Type Punch Matrix, near https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

Washington, D.C., is in talks to sell as a unit for $135,000. “It shows a life lived through books,” she said.

Ms. Romney is an established seller known to “Pawn Stars” fans as the show’s rare books expert.

But at 37, she represents a broad and growing cohort of young collectors who are coming to the trade from many walks of life; just across the aisle, Luke Pascal, a 30-year-old former restaurateur, was presiding over a case of letters by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

Michael F. Suarez, the director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, said that these days, his students are skewing younger and less male than a decade ago, with nearly onethird attending on full scholarships.

“The world of the archive is actually considered pretty hip,” he said.

Of course, most entry-level collectors can’t plunk down hundreds of thousands of dollars for a first edition. But by frequenting estate sales and used bookstores, scouring eBay for hidden gems and learning how to spot value in all kinds of items, enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s have amassed collections that reflect their own tastes and interests.

Their work has been elevated by prizes from organizations and sellers such as Honey & Wax in Brooklyn, which recognize efforts to create “the most ingenious, or thoughtful, or original collections,” as opposed to the most valuable, Professor Suarez said. As a result, they are helping to shape the next generation of a hobby, and a rarefied trade.

Rebecca Romney Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

Luke Pascal Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

Several young attendees stood out among the business-attire-and-book-core crowd at the fair — in particular Laura Jaeger, a petite 22-year-old with a shock of pink hair. Her mother, Jennifer Jaeger, owns Ankh Antiquarian Books in Chadstone, Australia, which specializes in books about Ancient Egypt; Laura is in the process of becoming a partner in the business.

She plans to expand its collection to reflect her interests, she said, like metaphysics and photography. “But I still know my Greek, Roman, Egyptian rare books really, really well,” she said. “I’ve been able to value books for a few years now.”

Kendall Spencer, 30, also hopes to leave his mark on the antiquarian book world. A Georgetown Law graduate who became enamored with rare books while researching Frederick Douglass, he is working as an apprentice at DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books while he prepares to take the Massachusetts bar exam.

“If you walk around here, there’s no one behind a booth that looks like me,” said Mr. Spencer, who is Black.

The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, a trade group with more than 450 members, hopes to see that change. The group started a diversity initiative in 2020 to “encourage and promote the participation of L.G.B.T.Q.+, BIPOC, and underrepresented groups in the world of book collecting and the trade,” Susan Benne, the organization’s executive director, wrote in an email.

The group also introduced a paid internship program placing participants at member firms.

“I want to see more people like me take an interest,” Mr. Spencer said, “and I think that starts with someone inviting people in.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

First Editions Everywhere When they’re starting out, most collectors focus on used and vintage books that matter for personal reasons, sourced from thrift stores, used bookstores and other amateur enthusiasts.

Thomas Gebremedhin, 34, a vice president and executive editor of Doubleday, started buying paperbacks from thrift stores in his early 20s while enrolled in the Iowa Writers Workshop, as a way to read out-of-print authors of color, such as Gayl Jones. These days, he can afford much pricier rare books, though he also picks up first-edition hardcovers for less than $10 at a “secret” bookstore in Brooklyn.

“You can find first editions anywhere,” said Mr. Gebremedhin, whose collection includes thousands of titles. “They should have a TLC show. You know that coupon show? I feel like there should be an equivalent for book shoppers.”

Amy Winehouse’s copy of “Howl, Kaddish, and Other Poems,” by Allen Ginsberg. Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

Camille Brown, 30, began collecting books when she was 3 and working at the Letterform Archive in San Francisco. “I started posting on Instagram about the things I was digitizing, which then led to posting about my own personal collection,” she said, which includes books on woodworking and joinery. (Her father is a contractor.) Soon, people started asking her for sourcing tips.

“It showed me there was more of an interest in the market than I realized,” Ms. Brown said. Now, she is an amateur book dealer on the platform and curates vintage books for clothing boutiques, sourcing most of her materials from library and estate sales.

Ms. Romney started collecting rare books at age 23, when she was hired by Bauman Rare Books in Las Vegas — a job she assumed her bachelor’s degree in classical studies and linguistics would https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

not qualify her for. But she discovered that “general bookishness” was the only real prerequisite; anyone nerdy, curious and thrifty enough could get into it.

She said that collecting can be “an exercise in autobiography” — a way of seeing facets of their own experience refracted through the looking-glass of another’s life. For example: Margaret Landis, 30, is an astrophysicist who collects texts related to the cometary discoveries of Maria Mitchell, the first female astronomer in the United States. And Caitlin Gooch, the founder of a literacy nonprofit in North Carolina, collects nonfiction related to Black equestrians.

Ms. Gooch’s father and uncle had been documenting the family’s “cowboy history,” she said, before her uncle died and the collection was lost. “We don’t know where those pictures and videos are,” she said, “so for me, finding these books, even though they’re not directly about my history, means I’ll be able to share the information from them.”

Judging a Book by Its Dust Jacket Beyond the link they offer to the past, collectors feel drawn to titles and editions that look good.

It’s why, as Jess Kuronen put it, the dust jacket of a book plays a considerable role in pricing.

Ms. Kuronen, 29, is an owner of Left Bank Books in Manhattan, which caters to what she calls “entry-level” collectors. At her store, a first edition of “On the Road” without the dust jacket is priced at $500. A “near-fine” first edition with the jacket recently sold for nearly $7,000.

Brynn Whitfield Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

Laura Jaeger Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

At Rare Book School, Professor Suarez said, students “learn how to read graphical codes, the illustrations, and the social codes” to understand “the life of that book over time in various communities.”

“There’s definitely people who strictly want to buy used books versus newer books,” said Addison Richley, 28, who owns Des Pair Books in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Once she finishes a book she likes, she scours the internet for “a prettier copy or a more interesting edition.”

Recently, a customer declined to buy a new copy of a vintage book they’d seen on the store’s Instagram.

“They explained to me that a used book is more special because it has character,” Ms. Richley said.

Brynn Whitfield, a 36-year-old tech publicist, started collecting antique chess books five years ago. “I’m getting more and more compliments about having these items in my house,” she said.

“People think it’s cooler than typical coffee table books.”

Though used book sales thrive online, most sellers believe there’s a serendipity that only browsing in person can offer.

“In our time, so much is trying to sell you what the machine thinks that you want already,” said Josiah Wolfson, the 34-year-old proprietor of Aeon Bookstore, a subterranean shop in Lower Manhattan. “I don’t want to presuppose what everybody is looking for, even if they are collecting a specific thing.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

Yoshi Hill of Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller shows “Catholicon,” by Johannes Balbus, printed circa 1469.Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

Sometimes the book that jumps isn’t one a collector would have planned to acquire at all. But, as Mr. Gebremedhin put it, the “emotional logic” of a vintage cover ends up speaking to the collector.

“I just got a first edition ‘Naked and the Dead,’” he said. He’s not a fan of Norman Mailer, its author. But: “It’s a beautiful cover.”

Making Space on the Shelf The used and rare book market is a circular system of materials and ideas, and many young collectors, including Mr. Wolfson, see their shelves as “fluid.” He frequently culls his personal collection of spiritually inflected titles for Aeon stock, a process he compares to divination. If a book no longer matters to him, he said, “somebody else should really get the benefit.”

Mr. Gebremedhin is considering donating his collection to the Columbus Public Library in Ohio, where he grew up. He gave away 500 books before moving to a new apartment in Brooklyn. “A lot of the books that come into my house eventually find someone else,” he said. “It’s kind of the beauty of reading and sharing them.”

Ms. Brown, who sells books through Instagram, said that “accessibility” is a guiding impulse in her work. The internet, she said, “opens the door to these objects living many more lives that they wouldn’t have lived otherwise.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

Jess Kuronen and Erik DuRon, the owners of Left Bank Books.Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

Jesse Paris Smith and Patti Smith. Credit...Evelyn Freja for The New York Times

Back at the fair, Jesse Paris Smith, 34, and her mother, the singer-songwriter Patti Smith, were looking at a book written by Charlotte Brontë when she was 13. For the two of them, poring over texts and covers has been a source of bonding. (Patti started collecting books around the age of 9, when she purchased “A Child’s Garden of Verses” at a church bazaar for 50 cents; today, it’s worth $5,000.)

“Jesse’s made books, and I’ve sold them,” Patti said. “I’ve done inventory, packed them, giftwrapped them, charged them.”

The Smiths routinely give books away, too. “It’s painful, but we try to put the ones that we’re not reading back out into the world,” Jesse said.

“But not our special books!” Patti said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/rare-used-book-collectors.html

NYxx,2022-05-08,ST,001,Bs-4C,E1_+

CMYK 2 ENCOUNTERS

8 REALITY TV

Greta Lee of ‘Russian Doll,’ at the pool hall. BY ALEXIS SOLOSKI

A ‘Real World’ gay icon makes his return. BY BENNET T MADISON

6 MODERN LOVE

13 FIELD NOTES

Staying connected in a time of war. BY LAYLA KINJAWI FARAJ

Couples wanting cash for a wedding gift. BY DANIELLE BRAFF

LIFESTYLE

RELATIONSHIPS

SOCIETY

SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2022 +

For their next act, the entrepreneurs who unleashed SoulCycle on the world are building a company that’s all about what they’re calling ‘relational fitness.’

INS IDE PE OPL EH OOD

BY KATHERINE ROSMAN PAGE 11

GABRIELA BHASKAR/THE NEW YORK TIMES

A room for discussion sessions at the Manhattan headquarters of Peoplehood. “We are modern medicine for the loneliness epidemic,” said Julie Rice, who is back in start-up mode with Elizabeth Cutler.

The New Collectors of Old Books A growing number of young and diverse enthusiasts are shaping a refined trade’s future.

By KATE DWYER

EVELYN FREJA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Laura Jaeger speaking with a rare book vendor at the 2022 Antiquarian Book Fair.

Late last month, during the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, Rebecca Romney withdrew a copy of “Howl, Kaddish, and Other Poems,” by Allen Ginsberg from her booth’s display case. She did so not to recite from its

pages but to show off the writing in the margins.

Amy Winehouse had puzzled out lyrics to an unrecorded song alongside Ginsberg’s lines. “You see her artistic process,” Ms. Romney said. “And it’s right next to someone else’s art that she was consuming while creating something new.”

The Ginsberg text is the centerpiece of Ms. Winehouse’s 220-book collection, which Ms. Romney’s company, Type Punch Matrix, near Washington, is in talks to sell as a unit for $135,000. “It shows a life lived

through books,” she said.

Ms. Romney is an established seller known to “Pawn Stars” fans as the show’s rare books expert. But at 37, she represents a broad and growing cohort of young collectors who are coming to the trade from many walks of life; just across the aisle, Luke Pascal, a 30-year-old former restaurateur, was presiding over a case of letters by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

Michael F. Suarez, the director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

CMYK 4

ST

NYxx,2022-05-08,ST,004,Bs-4C,E1

THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2022

The New Collectors of Old Books CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

said that these days, his students were skewing younger and less male than a decade ago, with nearly one-third attending on full scholarships.

“The world of the archive is actually considered pretty hip,” he said.

Of course, most entry-level collectors can’t plunk down hundreds of thousands of dollars for a first edition. But by frequenting estate sales and used bookstores, scouring eBay for hidden gems and learning how to spot value in all kinds of items, enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s have amassed collections that reflect their own tastes and interests.

Their work has been elevated by prizes from organizations and sellers such as Honey & Wax in Brooklyn, which recognize efforts to create “the most ingenious, or thoughtful, or original collections,” as opposed to the most valuable, Professor Suarez said. As a result, they are helping to shape the next generation of a hobby, and a rarefied trade.

Several young attendees stood out among the business-attire-and-book-core crowd at the fair — in particular Laura Jaeger, a petite 22-year-old with a shock of pink hair. Her mother, Jennifer Jaeger, owns Ankh Antiquarian Books in Chadstone, Australia, which specializes in books about Ancient Egypt; Laura is in the process of becoming a partner in the business.

She plans to expand its collection to reflect her interests, she said, like metaphysics and photography. “But I still know my Greek, Roman, Egyptian rare books really, really well,” she said. “I’ve been able to value books for a few years now.”

Kendall Spencer, 30, also hopes to leave his mark on the antiquarian book world. A Georgetown Law graduate who became enamored with rare books while researching Frederick Douglass, he is working as an apprentice at DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books while he prepares to take the Massachusetts bar exam.

“If you walk around here, there’s no one behind a booth that looks like me,” said Mr. Spencer, who is Black.

The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, a trade group with more than 450 members, hopes to see that change. The group started a diversity initiative in 2020 to “encourage and promote the participation of L.G.B.T.Q.+, BIPOC, and underrepresented groups in the world of book collecting and the trade,” Susan Benne, the organization’s executive director, wrote in an email. The group also introduced a paid internship program placing participants at member firms.

“I want to see more people like me take an interest,” Mr. Spencer said, “and I think that starts with someone inviting people in.”

First Editions Everywhere When they’re starting out, most collectors focus on used and vintage books that matter for personal reasons, sourced from thrift stores, used bookstores and other amateur enthusiasts.

Thomas Gebremedhin, 34, a vice president and executive editor of Doubleday, started buying paperbacks from thrift stores in his early 20s while enrolled in the Iowa Writers Workshop, as a way to read out-of-print authors of color, such as Gayl Jones. These days, he can afford much pricier rare books, though he also picks up firstedition hardcovers for less than $10 at a “secret” bookstore in Brooklyn.

“You can find first editions anywhere,” said Mr. Gebremedhin, whose collection includes thousands of titles. “They should have a TLC show. You know that coupon show? I feel like there should be an equivalent for book shoppers.”

Camille Brown, 30, began collecting books when she was 23 and working at the Letterform Archive in San Francisco. “I started posting on Instagram about the things I was digitizing, which then led to posting about my own personal collection,” she said, which includes books on woodworking and joinery. (Her father is a contractor.) Soon, people started asking her for sourcing tips.

“It showed me there was more of an interest in the market than I realized,” Ms. Brown said. Now, she is an amateur book dealer on the platform and curates vintage books for clothing boutiques, sourcing most of her materials from library and estate sales.

Ms. Romney started collecting rare books at 23, when she was hired by Bauman Rare Books in Las Vegas — a job she assumed her bachelor’s degree in classical studies and linguistics would not qualify her for. But “general bookishness” was the only real prerequisite; anyone nerdy, curious and thrifty enough could get into it.

She said that collecting can be “an exercise in autobiography” — a way of seeing facets of their own experience refracted through the looking-glass of another’s life.

For example: Margaret Landis, 30, is an astrophysicist who collects texts related to the cometary discoveries of Maria Mitchell, the first female astronomer in the United States. And Caitlin Gooch, the founder of a literacy nonprofit in North Carolina, collects nonfiction related to Black equestrians.

Ms. Gooch’s father and uncle had been documenting the family’s “cowboy history,” she said, before her uncle died and the collection was lost. “We don’t know where those pictures and videos are,” she said, “so for me, finding these books, even though they’re not directly about my history, means I’ll be able to share the information from them.”

Judging a Book by Its Dust Jacket Beyond the link they offer to the past, collectors feel drawn to titles and editions that look good. It’s why, as Jess Kuronen put it, the dust jacket of a book plays a considerable role in pricing.

Ms. Kuronen, 29, is an owner of Left Bank Books in Manhattan, which caters to what she calls “entry-level” collectors. At her store, a first edition of “On the Road” without the dust jacket is priced at $500. A “near-fine” first edition with the jacket recently sold for nearly $7,000.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY EVELYN FREJA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

‘I want to see more people like me take an interest, and I think that starts with someone inviting people in.’

KENDALL SPENCER

The rare book dealer Rebecca Romney, above, and top with Amy Winehouse’s copy of “Howl, Kaddish, and Other Poems.”

Kendall Spencer, an apprentice at DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books, at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

Jesse Paris Smith, left, and her mother, the singer-songwriter Patti Smith, who were both attending the book fair.

Laura Jaeger, 22, who is in the process of becoming a partner in her mother’s book business, Ankh Antiquarian Books.

Brynn Whitfield, a 36-year-old tech publicist, who started collecting antique chess books five years ago.

Jess Kuronen and Erik DuRon, the owners of Left Bank Books, a store in the West Village in Manhattan.

At Rare Book School, Professor Suarez said, students “learn how to read graphical codes, the illustrations, and the social codes” to understand “the life of that book over time in various communities.”

“There’s definitely people who strictly want to buy used books versus newer books,” said Addison Richley, 28, who owns Des Pair Books in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Once she finishes a book she likes, she scours the internet for “a prettier copy or a more interesting edition.”

Recently, a customer declined to buy a new copy of a vintage book they’d seen on the store’s Instagram.

“They explained to me that a used book is more special because it has character,” Ms. Richley said.

Brynn Whitfield, a 36-year-old tech publicist, started collecting antique chess books five years ago. “I’m getting more and more compliments about having these items in my house,” she said. “People think it’s cooler than typical coffee table books.”

Though used book sales thrive online, most sellers believe there’s a serendipity that only browsing in person can offer.

“In our time, so much is trying to sell you what the machine thinks that you want already,” said Josiah Wolfson, the 34-year-old proprietor of Aeon Bookstore, a subterranean shop in Lower Manhattan. “I don’t want to presuppose what everybody is looking for, even if they are collecting a specific thing.”

Sometimes the book that jumps isn’t one a collector would have planned to acquire at all. But, as Mr. Gebremedhin put it, the “emotional logic” of a vintage cover ends up speaking to the collector.

“I just got a first edition ‘Naked and the Dead,’” he said. He’s not a fan of Norman Mailer, its author. But: “It’s a beautiful cover.”

Making Space on the Shelf The used and rare book market is a circular system of materials and ideas, and many young collectors, including Mr. Wolfson, see their shelves as “fluid.” He frequently culls his personal collection of spiritually inflected titles for Aeon stock, a process he compares to divination. If a book no longer matters to him, he said, “somebody else should really get the benefit.”

Mr. Gebremedhin is considering donating his collection to the Columbus Public Library in Ohio, where he grew up. He gave away 500 books before moving to a new apartment in Brooklyn. “A lot of the books that come into my house eventually find someone else,” he said. “It’s kind of the beauty of reading and sharing them.”

Ms. Brown, who sells books through Instagram, said that “accessibility” is a guiding impulse in her work. The internet, she said, “opens the door to these objects living many more lives that they wouldn’t have lived otherwise.”

Back at the fair, Jesse Paris Smith, 34, and her mother, the singer-songwriter Patti Smith, were looking at a book written by Charlotte Brontë when she was 13. For the two of them, poring over texts and covers has been a source of bonding. (Patti started collecting books around the age of 9, when she purchased “A Child’s Garden of Verses” at a church bazaar for 50 cents; today, it’s worth $5,000.)

“Jesse’s made books, and I’ve sold them,” Patti said. “I’ve done inventory, packed them, gift-wrapped them, charged them.”

The Smiths routinely give books away, too. “It’s painful, but we try to put the ones that we’re not reading back out into the world,” Jesse said.

“But not our special books!” Patti said.