The New Novel. Watercolor, 1877.In 1877, Winslow Homer exhibited his watercolor, The New Novel, at an exhibition of the American Watercolor Society.It is an image that below its surface of innocent, leisurely repose churns a contemporary cultural scene fraught with change and fear; the culture-war in the U.S. had begun.“...Avoid also all those miserable sensational...novels and illustrated papers which are so profusely scattered around on every side. The demand which exists for such garbage speaks badly for the moral sense and intellectual training of those who read them...The extent to which the press is used in the publication of romance...
Archive Exhibit Exposes Espionage
Original European Union Poster For: Prague Through The Lens Of the Secret Police.Imagine that every move in your ordinary, everyday life, was secretly photographed. Your seemingly innocuous activities, strolling through a park, munching on an apple, waiting for the subway, were considered so dangerous they were captured forever by the secret police. Sounds far fetched, doesn't it? But a traveling exhibit from the newly created Security Services Archive in the Czech Republic capital of Prague reveals that from 1968 to 1989 this was exactly what citizens in that city endured.The exhibit, Prague Through The Lens Of The Secret Police, is...
Used and Rare Book Shop Anchors Downtown Trenton Revival
Eric Maywar of Classic Book Shop in downtown Trenton, NJ.Reversing the trend of book shop closings in general and in downtown urban districts in particular that Book Patrol has been following, the Classic Book Shop, on Warren Street in downtown Trenton, NJ, is playing an important role in the area’s renaissance.Classic owner, Eric Maywar, who owned another book shop in a nearby town, was approached by the Trenton Downtown Association with the idea.It was something of a leap of faith to make the move. When he arrived four years ago there were still buildings across the street that were not...
Jazz Star Hines Shines At Berkeley Library
1929 Poster By Dennis LorenEarl "Fatha" Hines, a giant of American popular music, and a man instrumental in the careers of Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughn, Nat King Cole, and more, will continue to promote the art of jazz for generations to come thanks to a magnificent endowment to the University of California-Berkeley. The bulk of Mr. Hines' estate, including personal papers, musical compositions and charts, memorabilia, and a bequest of nearly $300,000, has been given to the Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library as the cornerstone of a new Archive of African American Music.A brilliant keyboard virtuoso,...
From the Square to the Hill: Elliott Bay Book Company is on the move
Now it is official. The Elliott Bay Book Company, the retail centerpiece of Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood for over 35 years, will be packing up and moving to Capitol Hill.It is a sad day. For the city as a whole, for Pioneer Square in particular and in some sense for EBBC as well.Our book shop has been a block or less away from EBBC for over 15 years. We have seen, felt and have been affected by all the issues EBBC attributes as factors for their decision. Bookselling can be a very competitive business. When you look at the pressures...