A mysterious stranger appears at the 43d California International Antiquarian Book Fair and blesses exhibitors left and right by spending over one million dollars on Bibles. Astonishing, a marvel indeed, but not a supernatural event. Or was it?Now word trickles in since yesterday’s report that some dealers are experiencing a post-Fair bounce, with books taken on approval, approved, and books left to think about later at home thought about and bought.Read last sentence, last clause again. Repeat. Some people who did not buy at the book fair went home, thought, then bought.This is an anomaly. It rarely occurs in other...
43d California Book Fair and the State of the Trade
Last weekend’s 43d California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Los Angeles, the first major book fair of the year, provided an excellent overview of where the rare book trade now stands and where it may be headed.As reported here at the Fair’s beginning, the market has stabilized; the panic of ‘09 is over. Dealers have lowered posted prices and there is movement, albeit limited. Cash remains tight for collectors as well as dealers but seems to be loosening; collectors are returning to the market but only for fresh material, in certain areas, at certain price points.Trade sales, sluggish at the...
43rd California International Book Fair Photo Gallery
The Fair's guest of honor.From Author to Oscar® exhibit.Books into Film, the Fair's theme, has inspireddealers to feature related material.Birdseye view plan of Venice from the 17th centuryin a volume valued at $1.2 million.True scarcity:A first edition copy of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Ryeinscribed by the author.