The 52nd California International Antiquarian Book Fair at Oakland February 8-10
- by Bruce E. McKinney
A book fair to quicken the pulse
This, every other year, event in the San Francisco Bay Area returns to the Oakland Marriott City Center in downtown Oakland for a three day run: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, February 8 – 10. About 200 exhibitors are participating. Dealers from around the world have long made this fair an important stop.
As, in the past years, a variety of enthusiasm-building exhibitions will also be part of the show. They are:
A special exhibit from the Book Club of California highlighting women printers and book artists, as well as a display of some of the Club’s oldest and most sought-after publications
An exhibit on the works of L. Frank Baum from the private collection of Joel Harris, a member of the International Wizard of Oz Club
Information about local library and university collections
Book Arts, such as letterpress printing and calligraphy
Cyclone on the Prairies: The Magic of the Land of Oz
California Rare Book School's Road Show
Zamorano Celebrates 90
Book Collecting 101
What's This Book Worth?
New this Year!
In recognition of the next generation of bibliophiles, the Fair is pleased to announce The California Youth Book Collector’s Prize, a competition open to collectors aged 35 and under who reside in California. This year’s first prize is awarded to Matthew Wills, of La Jolla, whose collection is on the theme of "Anti-Confucian Propaganda in Mao’s China." Please visit his collection next to the ABAA booth in the Exhibit Hall and congratulate Matthew!
For both the simply interested and the absolutely obsessed the fair is great fun. Book collecting can be a solitary pursuit but when you walk one of the great book fairs you are reminded that you are not alone in your pursuit of appealing material.
Days and Hours
BOOK FAIR HOURS
Friday, February 8, 2019 • 3 pm to 8 pm Saturday, February 9, 2019 • 11 am to 7 pm Sunday, February 10, 2019 • 11 am to 5 pm
Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 526 William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Cranach Press, 1928.
Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 1022. Eugen Johann Christoph Esper. Butterflies Leipzig, 1829-1839.
Swann Fine Books Featuring Focus on Women April 23, 2026
Swann, Apr. 23: Thomas Heywood. An Apology for Actors. London: Printed by Nicholas Okes, 1612. $3,000 to $5,000.
Swann, Apr. 23: Illuminated Islamic Devotional Manuscript. 19th century. Approx. 90 leaves with gilt-decorated title and 2 full page miniatures of Mecca and Medina. $800 to $1,200.
Swann, Apr. 23: Antiphonal in Latin. Manuscript on Parchment. Cologne, early 16th century. $7,000 to $9,000.
Swann Fine Books Featuring Focus on Women April 23, 2026
Swann, Apr. 23: Mohammed ibn Jafir Albategnius. De Scientia Stellarum Liber. Bologna: Victor Benati, 1645. $8,000 to $12,000.
Swann, Apr. 23: Frank Herbert. Dune. Fine First Edition. Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1965. $5,000 to $7,000.
Swann, Apr. 23: William Shakespeare. Five Plays from the Second Folio. London: Thomas Cotes for Robert Allot, 1632. $6,000 to $8,000.
Swann Fine Books Featuring Focus on Women April 23, 2026
Swann, Apr. 23: John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men. New York: Covici-Friede, 1937. First edition, first issue. $800 to $1,200.
Swann, Apr. 23: Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities. With an A.L.S. London: Chapman and Hall, 1859. First edition, first issue. $1,200 to $1,800.
Swann, Apr. 23: Ursula K. LeGuin. The Left Hand of Darkness. Inscribed First Edition. New York: Walker and Company, 1969. $800 to $1,200.
Swann Fine Books Featuring Focus on Women April 23, 2026
Swann, Apr. 23: L. Frank Baum & Ruth Plumly Thompson. Five First Canadian editions including Ozma of Oz; The Emerald City of Oz; Glinda of Oz; [and others]. $1,000 to $1,500.
Swann, Apr. 23: Corita Kent. Different Drummer. 1967. Color screenprint; signed "Corita" in pencil on the lower edge. $1,000 to $1,500.
Swann, Apr. 23: Bible in English. Tyndale-Taverner Translation. The Bugge Bible. The Holye Bible. London: Imprinted by John Daye and Willyam Seres, 1549. $1,500 to $2,000.
Sotheby’s Précieuses reliures d’une bibliophile Collection Georgette J. Salles Open for bidding 8-29 April
Apr. 8-29: Delaunay, Sonia — Blaise Cendrars. La Prose du Transsibérien. 1913. €120,000 to €180,000.
Apr. 8-29: Picasso, Pablo — Georges Hugnet. La Chèvre-feuille. 1943. €80,000 to €120,000.
Apr. 8-29: Schmied, François-Louis ─ Joseph-Charles Mardrus. Cantique des cantiques. 1925. €30,000 to €50,000.
Apr. 8-29: Bonnard, Pierre — Paul Verlaine. Parallèlement. 1900. €30,000 to €50,000.
Apr. 8-29: Derain, André — Guillaume Apollinaire. L’Enchanteur pourrissant. 1909. €20,000 to €30,000.