Meggendorfer, Lothar. Travels of Little Lord Thumb and His Man Damian. London: H. Grevel, n.d. [1890s]. The pop-up or moveable book has come a long way since the groundbreaking work of Lothar Meggendorfer (1847-1925), the gifted Munich-based illustrator who brought visual sophistication, innovative paper engineering with complex mechanics, and humor to movable books. The Genius of Lothar Meggendorfer: A Movable Toy Book. New York: Random House , 1985. After Meggendorfer, the form declined amongst artists and faded from the general public’s consciousness. The skills were at risk of becoming lost. Much, if not most, of the credit for the revival...
The Oldest Living Rare Bookseller in the World
Muriel Craddock, 97, with daughter Kay in their family book storein Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Joseph Feil.Muriel Craddock, at age 97 1/2 surely the oldest living rare bookseller in the world, has announced the re-opening of Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller, her family business in Melbourne, Australia.Muriel, known as the Queen of antiquarian booksellers, and her late husband, Les, established the business forty-four years ago as The Treasure Chest. As the business grew it morphed into the Bourke Street Bookshop. When daughter Kay - who started working in the shop when she was sixteen - assumed management of the bookshop in 1990,...
Albert Camus in Grave Condition, France Holds Its Breath
The author at rest.Albert Camus is in the midst of a post-existential crisis.President Nicolas Sarkozy of France wants to transfer the remains of the writer and Nobel-laureate to the Panthéon, the Paris monument to some of the great men and women of France and one of the nation's most hallowed burial places. Camus is currently residing in the cemetery of Lourmarin, in the Luberon area of Provence, his birthplace.The gall, says Camus’s son, Jean, who asserts that interring his father’s remains at the Panthéon would be contrary to his father’s wishes and does not want to have his legacy put...
2009 Bad Sex in Fiction Award Nominees Announced
Courtney Love presents the 2006 Bad Sex in Fiction Awardto Iain Hollingshead for his novel, Twentysomething.The nominees for Literary Review's 2009 Bad Sex in Fiction Awards were announced last Friday evening.The awards were established by the editors to “gently dissuade authors and publishers from including unconvincing, perfunctory, embarrassing or redundant passages of a sexual nature in otherwise sound literary novels.” They are annually awarded to the author who produces the worst, most laughable and/or jarring description of a sexual encounter in a modern novel.In other words, when sex scenes go horribly wrong secondary to punctuation, syntax, or falling off a...
European Rare Book Seller Exhibits at Book Fair In Dubai
Booth at the 2009 Sharjah International Book Fairin Dubai, November 11-21, 2009Antiquariaat Forum, an ILAB, Netherlands-based dealer of rare books, prints, maps, manuscripts and drawings, is the only rare book dealer exhibiting at the Sharjah World Book Fair in Dubai.According to Corstiaan S, Hesselink, Antiquariat Forum’s owner, affluent collectors, universities, libraries, and museums in the region are open to spending large sums to acquire rare, antiquarian books. Hesselink brought only a small selection of books, wisely keyed to regional interests. A volume on falconry from the 16th century, priced at €165,000, has already attracted several serious buyers, according to Hesselink. Another...