This complete set of 108 British natural history books sold recently at Bonhams for over $8200. The New Naturalist, containing topics relevant to the British Isles, is arguably one of the most influential natural history series ever published and has been in continual publication by Collins since 1945.It was first published just after WWII ended and signaled a renewal for the beleaguered Brits at that time. In the editors' words, it was intended to "recapture the inquiring spirit of the old naturalists" and to foster "the natural pride of the British public in their native fauna and flora". The first two titles sold more than 30,000 copies each in their...
At Least They Call It Junk
Are there too many books in the world?Start here:End here:click to enlargeThe book section of the Jurby Junk shop on the Isle of Man.Top image viaBottom image via
Bookshelves in the Water Closet
Symptom of Bibliomania - If this image begins to make you wonder whether you could put shelves in your bathroom.This bookshelf mirage comes to us from a bathroom in Tokyo via lloydiThanks to the Bookshelf blog for the lead
André Kertész: On Reading
Academie Française, Paris (man on ladder reading). 1929For 50 years photographer Andre Kertész took pictures of people reading. His seminal book On Reading presents a series of these photographs taken by Kertész in Hungary, France, and the United States. It was first published in 1971, in New York, by Grossman Publishers and has recently been reissued by W.W. Norton.New York (boy eating icecream on pile of newspapers), October 12, 1944On Reading captures "readers in every conceivable place—on rooftops, in public parks, on crowded streets, waiting in the wings of the school play—are caught in a deeply personal, yet universal, moment....
The Where of Reading : Field-Tested Books
Talk about books and technology. Is the book on life support? The reader? Is information going in? or coming out?This fantastic screenprint was designed by John Solimine of Spike Press in an edition of 400 for the recent publication of Coudal Partners' Field-Tested Books. It also serves as the cover art.For over six years now the folks at Coudal have been asking been asking people to send them 300-500 words about a book they read somewhere; a “certain book read in a certain place.”The Field-Tested Books book contains three years of reviews featuring 143 entries from more than 90 contributors....