International flavor comes to America: Early Ethnic cookbooks February 9, 2020 – Posted in: Bookselling / Collecting, Content, Exhibits, Special Collections

Chinese-Japanese Cook Book by Sara Bosse and Onoto Watanna [pseud.], Chicago, Rand McNally [c1914]. First Edition The folks at Rare Books Digest have put together an informative list of first appearances of various ethnic cookbooks in America. From the 1828 first American publication of a French cookbook to the first Greek cookbook that, amazingly enough, wasn’t published in this country until 1942! Here’s a sampling. El cocinero español by Encarnación Pinedo. San Francisco, 1898. This…

The Pocket Poets Series turns 60 May 8, 2015 – Posted in: Bookselling / Collecting, Content, Of Interest: Featured Books / Reviews

2015 marks the 60th anniversary of City Lights Publishers and the beginning of the seminal Pocket Poets Series. It began with a 500 copy letterpress printed edition of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Pictures of a Gone World, his first book, in 1955. In 2011 they published the 60th title in the series, David Meltzer‘s When I Was a Poet. But it was the 4th book in series that single-handedly changed the course of American poetry and put City Lights…

It’s time for the ‘oddest book title of the year’ competition March 10, 2015 – Posted in: books, Content

Another year brings another shortlist of stunning book titles for Bookseller magazine’s annual Diagram Prize for “oddest book title of the year.” Created in 1978, with Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice taking top honors, the Diagram Prize has become a yearly hi-spot providing guaranteed entertainment to us book folks. This years nominees are: Nature’s Nether Regions by Menno Schilthuizen (published by Viking). Advanced Pavement Research: Selected, Peer Reviewed Papers from the 3rd International Conference…

Harlin Quist: The coolest publisher of children’s books you never heard of December 20, 2014 – Posted in: book design, Illustration

Harlin Quist just might be the coolest publisher of children’s books you never heard of. The brainchild of Harlin Bloomquist, Quist published over sixty children’s books between 1966-1984. They featured some of the finest European and American authors and illustrators of the day and helped establish the careers of many young artists. They are unmistakable in design and offered an original, fresh look in childrens’ book publishing. Quist had a background in theater and then worked in publishing, first as an editor…

The New Pelican Has Landed November 18, 2014 – Posted in: Books and Technology, Bookselling / Collecting, Content

After a 30 year slumber Pelican Books has returned. In its heyday it was an essential ingredient to a well-rounded view of the world. Coming from the mind of Allen Lane, who revolutionized the reading experience with the introduction of Penguin paperbacks, it provided affordable non-fiction to the masses: Costing no more than a packet of cigarettes, and aimed at the true lay reader, Pelicans combined intellectual authority with clear and accessible prose. As the…

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