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Archived Stories.
26.04.12. Larry McMurtry's massive book auction Here's some bittersweet news for North Texas book lovers. This August famed author and book collector, Larry McMurtry, will host a massive book auction in Archer City, the West Texas town that is the home to his sprawling, multi-venue downtown book store, Booked Up, and the setting of his novel The Last Picture Show ... more Add a comment
Birmingham medical institute rare books raise £407,000 Historic medical books - some up to 500 years old - have been sold off by a cash-strapped Birmingham health group. The Birmingham Medical Institute raked in more than £400,000 from the sale of half its 5,000-strong library to help it cope with rising rent and falling income ... more Add a comment
Creepy tips on how to 'collect pretty girls' It may have been intended as a joke, but few women - past or present - are likely to find much humour in pages from a Fifties magazine instructing readers how to 'stalk and collect pretty girls'. At first glance, the June 1959 issue of Girl Watcher magazine appears to be a typical Fifties pinup publication. But closer examination reveals it to be a highly sexualized attempt at parodying the satirical Mad Magazine ... more Add a comment
Walden Woods video game Its lack of thrills, spills and multiple deaths means it is unlikely to appeal to fans of Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, but a video game based on the years Henry David Thoreau spent living alone in a Massachusetts cabin is in development, following a US government grant ... more Add a comment
Near-infrared spectroscopy illuminates medieval art Scientists in the US and Italy have borrowed a technique more usually associated with geophysical remote sensing and applied it to medieval artwork - with stunning results. The near-infrared hyperspectral imaging of a leaf from a 15th century illuminated manuscript has produced a map of the pigment binders used by the artist. The technique will not only allow conservation specialists to better plan strategies for restoring and stabilising paintings, but will also give art historians new insights into the materials and methods favoured by individual artists ... more Add a comment
$5 Blyton book reaches $1200 on Trade Me Last weekend Welsh backpacker Tim Bow found a copy of Blyton book We Want a Story, a compilation of short children's stories, when he was at a Nelson garage sale searching for a present for a friend's child ... more Add a comment
25.04.12. Truman Capote typewriter makes $8,281 A typewriter, reportedly belonging to famed writer Truman Capote, has fetched $8,281 on eBay. But surprisingly, typewriters were-not Capote's first choice for writing (thanks to James Massey for the link) ... more Add a comment
21.04.12. Clunes southern hemisphere's first international book town There was hardly a murmur on the main street of Clunes yesterday, but behind the heritage streetscape of the old gold town the townsfolk are celebrating. Clunes has been put on the world map with recognition as the southern hemisphere's first international book town ... more Add a comment
19.04.12. Oscar Wilde book expected to fetch $100,000 A vellum-bound, first-edition copy of Oscar Wilde's theatrical masterwork The Importance of Being Earnest - dedicated in his own hand to the Canadian man who sparked the Irish literary icon's embrace of homosexuality - is expected to sell at a New York auction this week for more than $100,000 ... more Add a comment
Fish book nearly sank Isaac Newton's Principia Poor sales of lavishly illustrated book forced Royal Society to go back on promise to finance publication of Newton's Principia ... more Add a comment
18.04.12. Lock of Michael Collins' hair removed from auction The owner of a lock of Michael Collins' hair has decided to donate it to a museum rather than auction it, after the Irish Civil War leader's grandniece said she was appalled by the plan ... more Add a comment
Ghandi items raise £128,000 at auction An incredible collection of Mahatma Gandhi artefacts has been auctioned off in south Shropshire for £128,000 with the great man's iconic spectacles fetching more than £40,000. Ghandi's family had branded aspects of the sale 'morbid' after it was revealed a piece of blood splattered earth on which Gandhi was standing when assassinated in 1948 would go under the hammer ... more Add a comment
British Library acquires St Cuthbert Gospel The oldest intact European book - the St Cuthbert Gospel - is to remain in the UK after the British Library raised £9m to buy it. The acquisition of the 7th Century copy of the Gospel of St John follows the library's largest fundraising campaign ... more Add a comment
German artist turns old books into art Alexander Korzer-Robinson cuts out the illustrations from Victorian novels and history books and pieces them together to create magical collages. The Bristol-based artist said: "My creations have been made by cutting into the books, cutting around some of the illustrations and removing others ... more Add a comment
Unknown Poe manuscript on display Newly discovered Edgar Allan Poe manuscripts will be revealed in a major exhibit at Richmond, Virginia's Edgar Allan Poe Museum from April 26 to July 11, 2012. Among the recently uncovered pieces are four letters and the only known manuscript for Poe's important early poem "To Helen" ... more Add a comment
13.04.12. Why Do Old Books Smell? Walk into a used bookshop and you will encounter the unique aroma of aging books. The smell is loved by some, disliked by others, but where does it come from? Add a comment
The London Rare Books School In 2012, London Rare Books School will be running for two weeks: 25 June to 29 June and 2 to 6 July. Each course on offer will consist of thirteen seminars, amounting in all to twenty hours of teaching time spread between Monday afternoon and Friday afternoon. It is therefore only possible to take one course per week. There will be timetabled 'library time' that will allow students to explore the rich resources of the University's Senate House Library, one of the UK's major research libraries. There will also be an evening programme with an opening reception and talk, a book history lecture, and receptions hosted by major London antiquarian booksellers. There are still spaces on most courses for this summer ... more Add a comment
15th century Jewish siddur to be auctioned A rare 15th century festival prayer book written in Hebrew and estimated to be worth up to $800,000 will be exhibited in New York next week ahead of its sale at Christie's Books and Manuscripts auction in Paris next month ... more Add a comment
12.04.12. Timbuktu librarians protect manuscripts Malian scholars, librarians and ordinary citizens in the rebel-occupied city of Timbuktu are hiding away priceless ancient manuscripts to prevent them from being damaged or looted, a South African academic in contact with them said ... more Add a comment
Snoop Dogg on a roll with smokable book Rolling Words: A Smokable Songbook contains the lyrics of songs including Nuthin' but a "G" Thang and Gin and Juice. The songs are printed on Snoop's new king-size slim rolling papers, with the pages perforated for easy removal. The book even features a match-striking surface on the spine to make life as easy as possible for readers ... more Add a comment
1823 Declaration of Independence makes $597,500 With a price worthy of its historic stature, a recently discovered 1823 printing of the Declaration of Independence, painstakingly engraved and printed by William Stone to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the founding of The United States, sold for $597,500 - more than doubling its presale estimate, at auction in New York April 11, 2012. It was purchased by an anonymous East Coast buyer and was considered the centerpiece of Heritage Auctions' Historical Manuscripts Signature Auction ... more Add a comment
10.04.12. CAMBO closes The Campaign for Real Books (CAMBO) established in November 2010 to preserve and promote paper books and the independent bookshops that sell them, has removed all content from its site, leaving just a note that it has been discontinued. Jeremy Carson spent a good deal of time and money on promoting the idea, and despite my reservations, I'm sorry it didn't work out. Add a comment
Bright Young Things Fine Books & Collections Blog have been running a series entitled "Bright Young Things", profiling the next generation of antiquarian booksellers. Of particular interest to UK readers will be a recent conversation with Simon Beattie of Chesham in Buckinghamshire ... more Add a comment
Antiquarian bookstore was favorite Hitchcock haunt Fans of the Hitchcock classic "Vertigo" will remember the scene at the Argosy Book Store - the one where Jimmy Stewart asks the proprietor about mystery woman Carlotta Valdes ... more Add a comment
The magic of Encyclopedia Britannica's 11th edition Representing a peak of colonial optimism before the slaughter of war, the 1910/11 edition has acquired an almost mythic quality among collectors ... more Add a comment
Rebel capture raises fears for ancient manuscripts The seizure of Timbuktu by a fractious group of separatist and Islamist rebels in northern Mali has raised fears for the fate of the legendary city's ancient manuscripts and architectural treasures ... more Add a comment
5.04.12. From Rossetti to Voysey: Arts & Crafts Stamped Book Cover Design This unique exhibition brings together over 90 books with case-bound cloth covers by artists and designers, their names read like a roll-call of the leading artists and designers of the day. Philip Webb, DG Rossetti,
William Morris, Charles Ricketts, Walter Crane, Lewis F Day, Selwyn Image, Laurence Housman, James Guthrie, Gleeson White, Robert Anning Bell, Lucy Faulkner are all represented. Published between 1866 and 1911 and issued by commercial publishers the books all come from the collection of Malcolm Haslam, co-curator of the exhibition with Kathy Haslam, Blackwell's curator. 10 May - 15 July 2012 at Blackwell, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. Add a comment
Collecting Ephemera The third in the new series of seminars organised jointly by the Institute of English Studies (London University) and the ABA Educational Trust will be given by one of the most experienced and knowledgeable dealers in the area of printed ephemera, Valerie Jackson-Harris, Chairman of the Ephemera Society. All are welcome, it’s free, and there is no need to book; 6pm in room G37 on the Ground Floor of the Senate House Library, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU. Add a comment
Rare Books Mobile App The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) has launched an ILAB Mobile App which is now available in the Apple Store and the Android Market. Search for "ILAB rare books" or "International League of Antiquarian Booksellers" to find the free App ready to install on your phone. A Blackberry version will follow soon ... more Add a comment
Unfavourable Amazon reviews case is struck out An author who tried to sue a father of three from the West Midlands over comments made in a series of unfavourable reviews on Amazon is facing a six figure legal bill after a judge struck out his case ... more Add a comment
Encyclopedia Britannica nearly sold out The final edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica has almost sold out after nostalgic readers rushed to acquire their own copies of the 32-volume set, which will be the last ever printed ... more Add a comment
4.04.12. PAN Books website updated Tim Kitchen has expanded his PAN Books website, which now covers the first 25+ years. It now also features at least one of all the known titles issued by PAN under their quirky numbering system. Tim says he still has a lot of the later titles to add (those issued with ISBNs but the old yellow and black logo on the spine) and he is now including PAN Piccolo children's titles plus Topliners teenage fiction. Add a comment
3.04.12. Rare history book used as doorstop A rare 213-year-old piece of Wallingford's history has been recovered - after being used as a doorstop ... more Add a comment
660-year-old Jewish prayer book could be lost The Sarajevo Haggadah has endured the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews from southern Europe, the Nazi Holocaust and the war in Bosnia. It's been hidden under floorboards and in bank vaults; spirited out of danger by people willing to risk their lives; and shielded from the ravages of ethnic cleansing. Over six and a half centuries, this beautiful little book - which tells the story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt - has escaped the grips of enemies with hate in their hearts. But it may not survive its newest and most formidable foe: the banal indifference of a government that no longer cares about its national treasures ... more Add a comment
A bibliophile's paradise As well as the much publicised hilltribe treks and elephant rides through lush rainforests, there are a host of other slightly more low-key attractions such as the Chiang Mai's iconic second-hand bookshops which carry an amazingly diverse array of publications, many brought in by backpackers from all corners of the globe ... more Add a comment
