From the April, 1930 issue of Popular Science (p.38)Handy Bracelet Serves As Magazine HolderWhat might be a convenience to readers is a unique wrist attachment recently designed for holding magazines and small periodicals open before the eye at arm's length. This novel book holder is a bracelet fitting snugly about the forepart of the wrist, to which is fixed a small bracket firmly supporting the periodical just as the "lyre" of a cornet supports sheet music.The device is adjustable to any wrist and may be obtained in sterling silver or nickel, silver, or gold plated.Megan Dunn. The Book Bracelet. 20...
Obama’s First Storytime
photo from Getty/APPresident Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to the Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. today to read to the kids.They read from The Moon Over Star an account of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.The picture book was written by Dianna Hutts Aston and is illustrated by Jerry Pickney. It was published by Dial Books for Young Readers in 2008.Here is a video of the visit:Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
The Book Shooter : Emily Jacir’s "Material for a Film"
Courtesy of the artist and Alexander and BoninIn 1972, in response to the Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes, Israeli Mossad agents assassinated the Palestinian intellectual Wael Zuaiter in Rome. They fired 13 shots. 12 hit Zuaiter and 1 hit a copy of "A Thousand and One Nights" that was in Zuaiter's pocket. Zuaiter was in the midst of translating the book from Arabic into Italian.To commemorate the event Jacir has created an ongoing documentary, "Material for a Film," One element of the piece has Jacir shooting 1000 white books successively, "each with one bullet using the same gun the...
The Art of Pricing
click to enlargeWhile technology is transforming much of the book world there is one practice that remains virtually untouched for many booksellers, the act and method of pricing inventory. Yes, many booksellers now place printed descriptions with the price inside their books but if you look close enough you will still see a price written somewhere in the book. Barcodes have more to do with one's drinking life than as a form of inventory control for many of us."On the first white page in pencil" is our mantra when asked where our books are priced. Others price their books on...
A Few by Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley was one of the leading illustrators of his time. His work is a high-spot of the Art Nouveau movement. He was the art editor for the first 4 editions of the Yellow Book and was a friend of Oscar Wilde's. He illustrated the first English edition of Wilde's play Salome.He died at age 25.The images below were included in the seminal 1966 exhibition of Beardsley's work at the Victoria & Albert Museum.Frontispiece to The Wonderful History of Vergilius the Sorcerer, 1893Debris d'un PoeteBookplate designed for Herbert J. Pollitt. This image is currently featured on Book Patrol's sidebarIncipit Vita...