17.05.12.
War photographer Anton Hammerl remembered at auction
Photos by some of the world's best-known photojournalists - including a classic image made on D-Day by Robert Capa - were donated to the auction, held at Christies in New York ... more Add a comment
Restored 17th century Japanese scrolls go on display
A new exhibition featuring exquisite Japanese hand scrolls has opened at the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle. The 17th century scrolls, which recount one of the most important stories in Japanese classical literature, have recently undergone extensive restoration, generously funded by the Sumitomo Foundation, Tokyo ... more Add a comment
Bright Young Things: Ed Nassau Lake
Fine Books & Collections series profiling the next generation of antiquarian booksellers continues today with Ed Lake of Jaryndyce Booksellers in London. Ed's father, Brian, is the proprietor of Jarndyce Booksellers, which was founded in 1969 ... more Add a comment
15.05.12.
Miniature books are big collector items
While miniature books are by their very definition smaller than other books, they are every bit as collectible as their larger counterparts. In fact, collecting miniature books has become so popular that enthusiasts have even formed a Miniature Book Society ... more Add a comment
10.05.12.
The scandalous history of Judaism's most precious book
Theft, espionage, corruption and a cover-up lasting decades - a new book by a Times of Israel reporter exposes the extraordinary saga of the uniquely revered, 1,100-year-old Aleppo Codex ... more Add a comment
Former queen's love letters on display in Winchcombe
Love letters from the Tudor period have been unveiled for the first time at Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe. Rare books written by Henry VIII's last wife Katherine Parr are now on display along with her love letters from and to Sir Thomas Seymour ... more Add a comment
Maurice Sendak, who let children be just what they wanted
Maurice Sendak, who died on Tuesday, was one of the few - and rare - writers who truly wrote for children. Not to entertain their parents, or to improve their social skills - he told the stories that children live themselves, wobbling on the uncomfortable brink between dreams, imagination and reality, where truth is whatever can be remembered, whether it really happened or not ... more Add a comment
9.05.12.
Nonsense! The Wonderful World of Edward Lear
The Jumblies, the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo, The Dong with the Luminous Nose and of course The Owl and The Pussycat, are just a few of the fabulous nonsense poems of the remarkable Edward Lear, who was born 200 years ago. Join wonderfully entertaining poets Michael Rosen and Roger McGough, plus special guests, for this glorious celebration at the British Library on Sunday May 13th ... more Add a comment
The PBFA supports Listening Books
The PBFA has decided to support the Listening Books Charity which provides a fantastic selection of high-quality audiobooks too ver 17000 people across the UK who find it difficult or impossible to read due to illness or disability. The Listening Books owl symbol will be appearing on the PBFA posters and there will be literature, leaflets and collecting boxes at their premier fairs. Add a comment
The curious case of the stolen Hemingway letters
Taken from a Toronto shop in 1993, book dealer believes they are still out there ... more Add a comment
8.05.12.
Maurice Sendak dead at age 83
Maurice Sendak, the children's author and illustrator best known for the 1963 classic -Where the Wild Things Are, - is dead at age 83, the New York Times reports ... more Add a comment
Author claims Jack the Ripper was a woman
Former solicitor John Morris, 62, has named Welsh-born Lizzie Williams as the Whitechapel monster - and claims she killed her victims because she could not have children ... more Add a comment
Voynich Manuscript Celebrates 100 years
This friday May 11th, a celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the re-discovery of the Voynich manuscript will occur in Rome. Forensic research, historical presentations and recent interpretations of the language and drawings will be examined and presented during the event ... more Add a comment
Timbuktu: SA's uncertainty as rebels move in
As Timbuktu reels under rebel control, South Africa's investment in the preservation and protection of ancient manuscripts has been significantly imperilled. A good few million rands were poured into the Timbuktu project, but it's not the financial loss that will be felt most acutely ... more Add a comment
7.05.12.
Beatles printing plates up for auction
Unique pieces of Beatles memorabilia will go on sale with the original printing plates for John Lennon's first book later this month. The metal plates were used to print words and illustrations by the Beatle in the 1964 book John Lennon, In His Own Write ... more Add a comment
4.05.12.
Higham's biographies made vast claims
Charles Higham, a prolific celebrity biographer whose books drew vast attention for their memorably vast claims - Errol Flynn was a Nazi spy, Howard Hughes played a central role in Watergate - died April 21 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 81 ... more Add a comment
'These Are Your Kids On Books' goes viral
Bloggers and Pinterest users are going crazy over this poster, created by artist Mike Andereck for the volunteer-driven Colorado organization Burning Through Pages
... more Add a comment
Is it erotica, curiosa,or pornography?
I was looking through a rare book catalog from the early 1980s. The dealer subtitled his business, Erotica, Curiosa, and Sexology. What's curiosa? What's the difference between erotica and curiosa? And what's the difference among erotica, curiosa, and pornography? ... more Add a comment
The importance of dust jackets
Dust jackets have worried the pundits since the 1920s. Book buyers are divided over whether to retain or discard them. Librarians, who always discarded, are rebuked for destroying book history. Book historians dispute whether the jacket is even part of the book ... more Add a comment
3.05.12.
Jerusalem men charged with stealing rare books
Yisrael Pinto, 26, and Yekutiel Barkman, 23, used false documents to steal 18th century books, according to the indictment submitted to Jerusalem Magistrate's Court about two weeks ago. The thefts took place in May 2009 ... more Add a comment
2.05.12.
First edition of Robert Burns' poetry fetches £40,000
It is one of only 12 copies still owned by private collectors and will be staying in the Edinburgh offices of the company which has bought it. They will go public at a later date and will allow members of the public to view the book ... more Add a comment
Book owner cross as sale dips into fiction
The owner of a rare book found in a Nelson garage sale says he is now $70 out of pocket from a failed auction, rather than up to $1000 richer as he hoped ... more Add a comment
Rare books and counterculture collectibles
Enigmatic New York publisher and private bookshop Fulton Ryder - founded by artist Richard Prince - has been captivating us with their Tumblr snapshots of rare and fascinating cultural fragments. We wanted to take a closer look at their collection of books, manuscripts, and counterculture collectibles, and they were kind enough to allow us a peek ... more Add a comment
1.05.12.
Cash mob descends on Adams Morgan bookstore
Small business coalition Think Local First D.C. organized the second in a series of "cash mobs," where crowds of customers head into mom-and-pop shops to gin up sales. Dozens of shoppers flocked to Idle Time Books, a 31-year-old company that sells used, rare and antiquarian books in Adams Morgan Add a comment
Golf's "most important" memorabilia auction
In a high quality field of early golfing literature, a first edition of Thomas Mathison's The Goff. An Heroi-Comical Poem stands out. Published in Edinburgh in 1743, it is the first separately printed book devoted entirely to golf (£30,000 - £50,000) ... more Add a comment
Enid Blyton book $1510 sale falls through
A backpacker who thought he'd made $1510 off a first edition Enid Blyton book has been left in the lurch ... more Add a comment
Snyder Book Collecting Contest winners honored
In the graduate division, Laci Gerhart of Hutchinson took first place with "The Evolution of Scientific Knowledge: Vintage and Antique Textbooks of the Natural and Physical Sciences." Peter A. Williams of Lawrence received second place for "Beauty is a Rare Thing: A Collection of Works by, about, and Inspired by Ornette Coleman," and Jeffrey Bergfalk of Kansas City earned an honorable mention for his collection, "By Brakhage" ... more Add a comment
Book dealers court the press at their peril
When it comes to selling a rare item, seeking media attention certainly has its pitfalls ... more Add a comment
Tragic End to the life of Shakespearean book thief
It was a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare... along with a comedy of errors. The life of perhaps the most entertaining of book thieves came to a sad conclusion in March. When the jokes came to an end, and the reality of a surprisingly long prison sentence set in, Raymond Scott took his own life. Scott provided his native England with a year full of humor as he awaited trial for theft of a Shakespeare First Folio. It was a truly entertaining performance, worthy of the man whose book he purloined. Unfortunately, what lay behind his celebrity was theft, common theft except for the million dollar price tag on the item he stole. When the performance ended, and Scott was left with the isolation and bleakness of his punishment, it proved to be more than he could endure. Scott was not an evil man, just someone who needed to be born with a fortune. Unfortunately, like most of us, he missed out on having rich parents, so he attempted to make up for it in the wrong way ... more Add a comment
Old book shop keeps faith
With the paper book said to be in its death throes, now might seem an unusual time to buy a second-hand bookshop. But Mike Gray and Ross Colley say different. Last December the pair bought eclectic Hobart CBD store the Imperial Bookshop, and they say it has so far proved a very worthwhile venture ... more Add a comment
Stolen manuscripts recovered in Portland
The day an agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stuck her foot in the doorway of his home and insisted she was coming in, Phillip Pirages knew the news wasn't good ... more Add a comment
Second life
A 16th century manuscript, packed with fables and illustrations, had almost faded into history. An ongoing restoration effort has turned back the clock ... more Add a comment
French 15th-century manuscript sells for two million euros
A 15th-century French manuscript with intricate miniature paintings sold at a Paris auction on Friday for two million euros, the Drouot auction house said. ... more Add a comment
Noted antiquarian bookseller dies
Diana Parikian who has died aged 85, was one of the first female antiquarian booksellers in a male dominated trade. She made her name if not a fortune ("I'm not a good businesswoman") by dint of book-hunting in the byways of continental renaissance and baroque literature ... more Add a comment
