In one of the most blatant displays of hubris in the annals of bookselling, the notorious Tim Miller of Flatsigned.com is celebrating his 10 year anniversary by issuing a press release for the ages.Here are some nuggets:on his business name- "Coined by legendary horror writer Stephen King, the term FlatSigned refers to the most desirable type of collectible book." Not.on how he got started-One of his friends told him "he could make money by getting books autographed and reselling them. At the time, the film version of John Grisham's novel "The Firm" was being filmed in Memphis, where Miller served...
Her Name Was Book
She came into the world as Joyce Columbia Bernur and when she left it in February of last year she was Joyce Columbia Book. She also left $77,000 to the Berkeley Public Library.Book lived in the Berkeley area for the whole of her adult life and beside her love of reading and libraries she was also an early supporter of animal rights.BPL Community Relations Librarian Alan Bern told the East Bay Express that in her later years "She was once heard to say that she wished she could just move into that library and live there for the rest of...
The Return of the Bookseller Catalog
Derringer Books. Catalog 17. Designed by Andrea LathamPublishers might be considering giving up on the printed catalogs but bookseller catalogs are making a comeback. Since the early days of bookselling the catalog was the cornerstone of a bookseller's business. It was the premier sales channel for the trade. They became; however, an early casualty of online bookselling. Many booksellers completely abandoned the catalog format while focusing on developing an online presence. Most of us thought they were no longer necessary. Now, a little over a decade later, most have returned to the catalog.Jeff Maser. Catalog 46. Designed by Andrea LathamWhy?...
Emory University Unleashes The Danowski Poetry Collection
Emory University kicked off National Poetry Month with a bang. They had three Pulitzer Prize winning poets (Mark Strand, W.D. Snodgrass and Richard Wilbur) headlining a conference titled “A Fine Excess: A Three-Day Celebration of Poetry.” It was during this event that Emory took the wraps off what some say is the most important collection of English-language poetry in the world. It was the first public display of the fruits of the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library which they acquired in 2004. The 75,000 rare books, posters, periodicals and recordings that make up the collection is "a nearly complete record of...
Thinking About Book Collecting?
Well so is Kristen Ogden. Her piece over at the Kenyon Review blog, "Antiquarian Book Collector Wanna-be", gives us a worthy peek into the process.Ogden says: "As it turns out, book collecting is pretty easy. Book Collecting As A Hobby by P.H. Muir offers a pretty good justification for buying first editions rather than spending half the cost of a first edition on a cheap paperback. If you know it’s an author or subject you’ll like, you might as well buy the good stuff because it’ll last longer, and if you ever get rid of it, you’ll get some sort...