Booksellers Provident Retreat at Abbots Langley, Herts, 1848"The Booksellers Provident Retreat, Abbott's Langley, Herts, established 1843, is an asylum connected with the Booksellers' Provident Institution, for aged booksellers and booksellers' assistants, and their widows, who are in receipt of annuities from the Booksellers' Provident Institution. Income under £100 per annum." from The Charities of London, by Samuel Low, Jun., London: Sampson Low, Son, & Co. 1861.Believe it or not these guys are still around. It is now run by the "BTBS the book trade charity" and "The benevolence, care and generosity of the members of the Booksellers Provident Institution who...
Bauman Rare Books Bets on Vegas
Last week it was announced that the Reading Room at Mandalay Bay, the last independent bookstore in Las Vegas, was closing its doors. This week word comes that Bauman Rare Books, one of the preeminent antiquarian booksellers, is opening a store at Shoppes at the Palazzo. The Palazzo is home to some of the world's premier luxury brands and Bauman is hoping to fit right in.Those of you who read the Book Review section of the Sunday New York Times are familiar with Bauman's frequent back page ad offering various hi-spots of collectible books.They might be the only bookseller with...
And the Envelope Please: Designs for the George W. Bush Presidential Library
Design submitted by Colt 45. Click to enlarge for best viewThe Chronicle of Higher Education asked readers to submit there designs for the future George W. Bush Presidential Library. The only stipulation: The design must fit on the back of an envelope.The response:"About 120 people sent in sketches that were good, bad, serious, humorous, abstract, or really angry. Their designs took the form of toilets, bunkers, crosses, and W's, some crudely drawn and some very elegant."The Chronicle Review has just posted a sampling of the designs and a video:The actual library will be built at Southern Methodist University, in a...
The Rise of the Bookshelf in the Internet Age
Neverending Luca Nichetto & Andreoli, 2007One aspect of book culture that seems to be flourishing is bookcase design. Hardly a week goes by without me seeing an image of a newly designed bookcase; the designs and creativity seem endless."If you've still got an Ikea "Billy" holding up the wall in your apartment, maybe it's time you freshened up," is how Rain Noe puts it in his post over at Core77, "If the Kindle Wins, Bookshelf Designers Lose." Freshome has posted a gallery of their favorite 30 contemporary bookshelf designs of the last year and a blog called Bookshelf has recently...
Alphabet Book Party at the Internet Archive
The folks who make up the Collections Team at the Internet Archive have put together a nice survey of 100 years of Alphabet Books.12 books are featured beginning with The Royal Alphabet (1808) and ending with Oliver Herford's A Peter Pan Alphabet (1907). For over 200 years the alphabet book has been used as an educational tool but as you can see in this survey the form has become much more adult friendly over the years.The Alphabet Book at Wikipedia