"Keeps its finger on the pulse of the rare book world" - William Reese

The Paris “Salon International du Livre Ancien”, organised by the S.L.A.M., will run for its second year in the magnificent Grand Palais, from 18th to 20th April 2008.

Despite the discomfort sellers experienced last year due to the April heat wave, which was only amplified by the glass-domed ceiling, a record number of 156 ILAB booksellers will take part in the 2008 edition. Of this number, a third are Parisian, a third come from elsewhere in France, and a third are International.

Additional points of interest include, an outstanding display from the year’s guest library, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, demonstrations of book restoration by the Vesinet School of Applied Arts, a survey of French book towns and villages, and a presentation on “Travellers and Collections” by Stephane Martin, Director of the Quai Branly Museum. Exhibitions of photography, bookends, and modern bindings could also be on show.

This year, more than 20,000 visitors are expected over the duration of the Salon, which will open with a preview evening on Thursday 17th (by invitation only) in the presence of the “Comité d’honneur”.

“No efforts have been spared to make this the largest celebration of the antiquarian book ever organised in Paris. We look forward to seeing you there!” (S.L.A.M.)

For more information, please visit: www.salondulivreancienparis.fr

 

The 48th Annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair is set for another year of showcasing high-end material, from 4 – 6 April at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street.

Sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association the prestigious, old-timer NY fair returns to the Armory under the management of Sanford L. Smith & Associates.

This year, 200 of the leading dealers from the U.S., England, and all across Europe, will unite to exhibit vast collections of books, manuscripts, autographs, finely bound volumes and ephemera, covering all areas of specialty and interest.

The fair will include a preview evening on Thursday 3 April from 6 – 9pm, benefiting The Morgan Library & Museum. The Morgan remains one of the few institutions in the U.S. that collects, exhibits, and sponsors research in numerous areas of Antiquarian book collecting.

Discovery Day returns to the fair on Sunday April 6 from noon – 3pm in Armory’s Lobby. Visitors holding tickets are invited to bring up to 5 rare books or manuscripts for free appraisal by the fair’s expert exhibitors.  

HOURS:
Friday April 4, noon - 8
Saturday April 5, noon - 7pm
Sunday April 6, noon - 5pm

PREVIEW:
Thursday April 3, 6pm - 9pm
To benefit the Morgan Library & Museum

ADMISSION:
$20 Admission
$30 Two-Day Pass
$45 Run of Show Pass
$50 Preview Admission

http://www.sanfordsmith.com 

The first ever Hong Kong International Antiquarian Book fair took place on Friday 30th November, and the International Herald Tribune hailed it as “a great success.”

The three-day International Antiquarian Book fair attracted more than 60 dealers from Europe, the United States, Japan and elsewhere.

Even though Hong Kong collectors and bibliophiles made up the majority of the business, exhibitors reported sales to collectors and students alike from as far away as Canton and Shanghai. Chinese books and maps were obviously popular but there was also a strong demand for English and French books.

On offer at the fair was the oldest existing Asian and Western printed material including prayers printed in the eighth century in Japan, money printed in China in the fourteenth century, and a page from the Guttenburg Bible, printed in the fifteenth century in Germany.

The introduction of this new International fair will continue the important and long-standing process of bringing together Western and Asian culture. So let’s look forward to the 2008 edition of this exciting new venture.

 

The 31st edition of the Boston International Book Fair will take place from November 16 to November 18, 2007, at Boston’s Hynes Convention Centre.

Recognised as one of the oldest and most respected fairs in the trade, over 120 International Antiquarian book dealers will come together from the United States, England, Germany and the Netherlands to exhibit and sell collectible and antiquarian books, modern first editions, manuscripts, autographs, maps, atlases, and a plethora of other literary ephemera. Also featured in the extensive fair material will be fine and decorative prints.

Some highlight items from the fair include, Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, 1873, one of two copies in existence in salmon-coloured cloth.

The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay.

D.H. Lawrence, Women in Love, one of 25 copies signed by Lawrence during a trip to the U.S. in 1923.

And a 1st copy of Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, inscribed by Plath’s husband, Ted Hughes, to his friend and collaborator, the Hungarian poet Janos Csokits, in April 1967.

For more information on the fair and to view this years exhibitors, please visit:

http://www.bostonbookfair.com

The annual York Book Fair, the largest in Europe, will open Friday the 14th of September at 12.00 noon at the Knavesmire Suite, York Racecourse.

This year it will be the 32nd edition of the fair, which will last over two days and feature nearly 200 dealers.

Many exciting goods will be on offer for you to see or even buy. Here are a few highlights for you:
The Tailor of Gloucester, Beatrix Potter. A first edition, privately printed for the author in 1902. The price is £3000.00 at Jonkers Rare Books.
Beatrix Potter is featured again in the inscription on the front free end paper of Furneaux’s The Outdoor World or Young Collector’s Handbook. It reads ‘For Harry Beckett from Miss Potter wishing him a Merry Christmas 1909.’ Harry Beckett was Beatrix Potter's driver at Hill Top Sawrey and this copy was passed on in recent years to another local family in the area. Printed by Longmans, Green and Co. in 1905, the book is on sale for £950.00 at Norman Kerr Booksellers.
Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales. Illustrated by W. Heath Robinson and published by Constable & Co. Ltd, London 1913. A Limited Edition and priced a £3,000.00 by Stephen Foster.
Interested in what else there is to see at the fair? Go to www.yorkbookfair.com
Tickets are £2.00 and complimentary tickets can be obtained via the website.

by Michou Gerits