The Deluxe Two-Shilling true first edition of 1901 with all edges gilt.Every now and then a book lands on my desk that none of the usual sources agree upon, a volume that is a bibliographical nightmare with few copies in institutional holdings, each, apparently, a different edition but all of them issued without a date of publication, and with few details in the records to help sort things out.Such a book is Faithful Friends, a children's book illustrated by, amongst others, Arthur Rackham. Latimore & Haskell and Derek Hudson declare 1913 as the year of this book's first publication, yet...
Rare Book Trading Cards On Santa’s Top Shelf
I’ll trade ya a Tarzan 1st for a Moby Dick 1st.What’ya crazy? S’like asking me to trade a Mickey Mantle fora Whitey Ford. Take a long walk off a short pier, pal.When book collectors congregate they like to trade stories about the book that got away, their latest acquisition, one-up each other, relate bibliographical points, how many hairs did Hemingway have in his beard while writing whatever and what percentage were grey, etc., etc.Now collectors can trade classic rare book cards. They're like baseball cards for bibliophiles who want to know the score.ABAA modern firsts specialists, Between the Covers (BTC),...
Rare Books Shops In Korea Go South
Tongmunkwan rare book shop, one of only two left in Insadong,once Korea's largest market for antiques, artwork, and rare books.Photo by Shin Dong-yeun for Joongang Daily.Tongmunkwan is a 75-year-old bookstore in the Insadong neighborhood of Seoul, Republic of Korea. A sign in front of the shop reads, “It’s better to pile books than gold.”Not lately.South Korea, which once had a thriving rare and antiquarian book trade, is down to its last fifty rare book shops with more closings on the horizon.According to a recent article in the JoongAng Daily, numerous factors are at work.The reasons are eerily similar to what...
Old Books, Chemistry, and the Science of Smellology
A Book Patrol exclusive: Scratch n' Sniff this image for“A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids anda hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness."I don’t know about you, but when I have difficulty falling asleep at night, I reach for the latest issue of Analytical Chemistry. Take it from me, counting volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is far more effective than counting sheep.A recent issue, however, jumped out of my hands, conked me on the noggin, and made my nostrils itch.“A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over...
Waldo Hunt and Pop-Up Books: A Brief Overview
Meggendorfer, Lothar. Travels of Little Lord Thumb and His Man Damian. London: H. Grevel, n.d. [1890s]. The pop-up or moveable book has come a long way since the groundbreaking work of Lothar Meggendorfer (1847-1925), the gifted Munich-based illustrator who brought visual sophistication, innovative paper engineering with complex mechanics, and humor to movable books. The Genius of Lothar Meggendorfer: A Movable Toy Book. New York: Random House , 1985. After Meggendorfer, the form declined amongst artists and faded from the general public’s consciousness. The skills were at risk of becoming lost. Much, if not most, of the credit for the revival...