Rare Book Monthly

Articles - October - 2016 Issue

40th Annual Boston Antiquarian Book Fair Set for October 28-30

October 28-30 in Boston.

The 40th annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair is scheduled a bit earlier than usual this year, so mark it on your calendars now before it slips by. The dates are Friday – Sunday October 28-30. One thing that won't change is the location. Once again, the fair will be held at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston, in the Back Bay.

 

The fair organizers are providing one notable bonus for this 40th anniversary edition. Admission will be free on both Saturday and Sunday, as they look to entice potential new collectors to experience the excitement of a book fair and collecting. Admission for the Friday preview remains at $20 for those looking to get first crack at the selections.

 

The Boston show is sponsored by the New England chapter of the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America). Over 120 dealers will be exhibiting and selling, representing the United States, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Australia. The organizers note that there is something for "every taste and budget," including "books on art, politics, travel, gastronomy, science, sport, natural history, gardening, literature, music, and children’s books." Anyone who has ever attended one of these fairs knows the subject matter is way more extensive than that. Additionally, as collectors these days are more likely to collect subjects rather than just books, you can expect to find many related types of items in the works on paper field, including manuscripts, maps, prints, photographs, and ephemera.

 

Turning to specifics, the fair organizers tell us, "Among the highlighted items for sale will be rare and first editions of works by James Baldwin, Jonathan Swift, Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Lewis Carroll, and Sylvia Plath; a souvenir program and scorecard for the 1915 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies, won by Boston in five games and Babe Ruth’s first as a rookie; a rare original watercolor drawing by British artist Arthur Rackham; one of the earliest printed works in the world, Hyakumanto Dharani, a 1250 year old relic of East Asian high culture; Albert Einstein’s childhood building blocks; signed photos from the horror films The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Psycho; Elvis Presley’s first record; two sketchbooks by the renowned Ukrainian-born Jewish-American sculptor and graphic artist Chaim Gross; a very unusual autographed press book for the 1968 legendary film Night of the Living Dead; the original watercolor painting depicting Hogwarts, for the British edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; a masterfully illustrated Japanese version of Don Quixote; and a signed & inscribed photo of legendary illusionist Harry Houdini."

 

For beginners, or those on a limited budget, there will also be a selection of "Discovery" books. These are books priced under $100, and among them will be books from one of the most popular fields of collecting – children's books.

 

A series of events will also be held during the fair. Here they are.

 

SPECIAL EXHIBITION! Collecting the Boston Music Scene: 1976-2016

On display all weekend - October 28-30

David Bieber, formerly of WBCN and the Phoenix Media Group, displays highlighted selections from his extensive archive of rock posters, albums, and ephemera chronicling 40 years of Boston’s music scene. View items from Aerosmith, The J. Geils Band, The Cars, and many one-of-a-kind pieces.

 

DISCOVERY: Starting Your Own Collection

Saturday, October 29 1:00pm

Panel Discussion - A rare opportunity to ask the experts the best way to start your own collection. Afterwards, shop the Fair and visit our “Discovery” exhibitors for items $100 and under to help you begin your collection.

 

Typewriter Rodeo

Saturday, October 29, 2:00-5:00pm

The Typewriter Rodeo poets will be on hand to write an original poem for you on any topic you choose on their eclectic collection of vintage typewriters.

 

Librarians Who Collect: Ticknor Roundtable

Saturday, October 29, 3:00pm

The Ticknor Society collectors’ roundtable will feature Mindell Dubansky (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) on her collection of blooks (objects that look like books), Christian Dupont (Boston College), Silvia Dupont (Newton North High School) collection of 18th and 19th century Italian grammar books and Joshua Lupkin (Harvard University) on a collecting books about cats and dogs - discussing interesting collections outside of their institutional holdings.

 

Adventures in Literary Archaeology – Edgar Allen Poe & Boston

Sunday, October 30, 12:30pm

Paul Lewis, professor of English at Boston College and president of the Poe Studies Association, discusses his work on Edgar Allan Poe’s relation to Boston’s literati and on recovering a generation of poets who published in Boston during the early national period.

 

FREE Expert Appraisals!

Sunday, October 30, 1:00 - 3:00pm

Bring your books & ephemera to get expert free appraisals. You might find you have a valuable treasure!

 

Hours are:

 

Friday, October 28 – 5:00-9:00 pm.

Saturday, October 29 – 12:00-7:00 pm.

Sunday, October 30 – 12:00-5:00 pm.

 

To purchase tickets for Friday evening, and find other information about the fair, visit the website of the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000

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