The dust has finally settled on the 2009 Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair and I am back in Portland and more or less recovered. I'll start with an apology for not posting while there, but the days were very long and I was stretched a bit too thinly.
We headed down on Thursday to drop our cases off, check into our hotel, check out the preview at Skinner and attend the cocktail event at the Boston Athenæum. The highlight of the day was unquestionably the wonderful even at the Athenæum.
I've included two images of from the BA's remarkable fifth floor. Membership (an extremely reasonably deal) is entirely justified by the privilege of spending some quite time in Boston in this extraordinary space. One image tries (and fails) to capture the beautiful design and execution of the bowed room at the end of the hall. The other shows one of the several alcoves and upper areas (this with Ken Sanders gazing down upon all he commands). Note the stairs built into the alcove face...there are many of these.
The evening at the BA was co-sponsor
I'm pleased to announce the debut of the "2010 Fine Books Compedium & Bookseller Directory":
This delightful guide to fine books features writing from Nicholas Basbanes, Scott Brown, Erica Olsen, Derek Hayes, Ian McKay, and many others. Stories include coverage of the Grolier Club conference on the future of the book trade; million dollar books; magazine collecting; collecting in Norway; fine maps; fine presses; and much more.
Also included is the 2010 Gift Guide for the book minded and the 2010 Bookseller Resource Guide, a listing of more than 700 bookstores and book-related institutions worldwide.
As most of you know, FB&C ceased their usual print issues and went digital only about a year ago. They have, quite brilliantly, decided to issue an annual print volume that will put most of the annual digital content into ink on paper in a lovely, shelvable, volume. I encourage you to reward this decision by
purchasing a copy.
I offer for your amusement and enjoyment two great new(ish) blogs. The first is
The Green Hand - Specializing in horror, mystery, and esoterica...best of all, just across the lane from Nancy. We're heading to a nice biblio-density level here on the West End. In Michelle's own words:
Hello everyone! It's official -- The Green Hand bookshop has secured its new shopfront space at 661 Congress Street, across Longfellow Square from our friend Nancy at Cunningham Books, and across the street from our compatriots in cultural intrigue, The Fun Box Monster Emporium and Coast City Comics.
Not only will we strive to provide a pleasant atmosphere and an ever-intriguing book selection, but also we are bringing into the fold the inimitable Loren Coleman's own International Cryptozoology Museum.
The other is the quite excellent foodie blog, "
Portland Food Coma". It is not your usual food blog. Irreverent, debauched and...well...sometimes patently offensive (you are warned re the bacon cross tattoo-and/or the horror below it). All this notwithstanding, perhaps because of it, it is one of the great reads on and about food. Enjoy.
We started the day at the MARIAB Northampton Book. I arrived at just about 10 am and the place was pleasingly busy. There were a good number of dealers present...pretty much the same as past years...with some fresh blood stepping into a handful of empty slots.
I saw a handful of things I'd have liked to secure, but few things that really jumped out at me. this was, most likely, the result of too much buying in the days previous and possibly my lack of sleep. I did manage to see a number of the dealers I really look forward to seeing at this fair.
Lisa found a few interesting things. I caught up with
Forest Proper and others and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I had a number of people ask why I was not doing this fair...I told them the truth: that I just can't bring myself to do fairs where I spend more time setting up my booth than the fair is open (my issue, not the fair's). On the other hand, I had a nice compliment in that one dealer told me that someone had asked if I was at the showl. As an added bonus, I had a quick nice chat with Thurston Moore (founder of
Sonic Youth and, pleasingly, a collector).
We left the fair in mid-afternoon and ran a few errands and picked up a very quick bite to eat. The errands gave me a chance ot stop in at Raven Used books. Interesting shop...a lot of new material, very aggressively price.
We then headed over to Art Larson's wonderful
Horton Tank Graphics. Three of the images are from Art's. The first
is an amazing type case...both for its overall size and condition, but also as it came with complete sets of early woodblock type.
Art showed us his various presses (one included tot he side). It is pretty wonderful to think that some of Leonard Baskin's greatest books came off these press.
We spent a bit of time talking about printing and coloring techniques and Art showed us some raw pigment used to create some of the wonderful colors that come off his presses. Show here are Azure and Malachite in raw form. Very cool. Art also gave us a tour of Wild Carrot Press (downstairs).
After that Lucretia and I went back to the house and regrouped for a few minutes (might have looked at a few
books. We joined Lisa for dinner at the Great
Wall (remember, White Menu for the Good Stuff).
We headed back to the house and settled in for the night. More books. This time, Lisa took me (us) on a whirlwind tour that touched bindings (publishers and fine), girl books, early books and just wonderful things in interesting stories. Lisa is everything I love in a passionate book lover--she can pull any book of the shelf (and there are 10s of thousands) and tell you what the book is, where she bought it and why it is special. It would be impossible to avoid becoming excited looking at books with her...even were they were not exceptional examples (or associations, etc). It is a simply remarkable collection in many different ways.
It is late and we have to be on the road reasonably early to get back to Portland. More to follow as I begin to be able to process this adventure...
Stage Three of my epic fall journey began as soon as I arrived back in Portland. Having survived, barely, the Seattle to Maryland trip, I spent a few days doing things in the MD area and visiting my in-laws. Fun was had by all. We left on Thursday, arriving back in Portland at about 430pm or so.Lucretia picked us up at the airport and brought us to the house where we unloaded, I gazed longingly at my bed while repacking and then we (just LB and I, The Suz had conflicting obligations) were off to the Northampton area for the weekend.
The principle reason for the journey is the annual
MARIAB book fair in Northampton. That said, it was the invitation to attend the opening of
The Clark exhibit of "Raven and Crow" (Manet/Poe & Baskin/Hughes) and stay with Lisa and Lucretia that forced me to forgo my own bed (and other plans) for another weekend away. Friday saw us spend most of the day at the Clark. It is a small and wonderful exhibit at a gem of a museum in the middle of pretty much no where [N.B. the founders of The Clark sited it (in the early 1950s) where it is found because it was the least likely to be nuked there]. We spend the late afternoon and evening at the house/shop of
Second Life Books...great conversation, great books and (later) a nice Indian dinner together.
We woke at a reasonable hour on Saturday and had a nice breakfast (Lucretia brought down some smoked salmon and I sautéed some with onion and eggs...the other highpoint being Lisa's insanely good blueberry jam). I had a tour of the print shop and studio in the morning and then we hit the road. After a quick stop at an antique shop, we visited Michael Kuch (
Double Elephant Press) in his newly build print shop. We had a very nice visit, most of which revolved around him pandering to my desire to look at his
simply exceptional work (including his newest and his next). Images of his books do not come close to doing them justice. I am really looking forward to seeing more (and seeing what he does over the next few years and decades).
We left Michael and his family (and
Hosie and several of his) to explore
Troubadour Books. TB is a general stock shop...but with genuine flair, taste, and quality. It is rather well organized, the books are in generally great condition and the subject matter is legion. I picked up interesting things from erotica to drug culture, photographic monographs to fine press missives-the crowning item, discovered after I'd already cashed out once, being a simply wonderful 1930 alphabet block print volume, each plate signed by the artist/printer. There are many great shops in the Northampton area...but do not miss Troubadour if you are out this way.
Lucretia and I came back around 6pm and spent the next two hours (before dinner) looking at several
Gehenna Press books. We then joined Lisa, Hosie,
John Waite,
Jim Arsenault, and a few others for a great dinner at
The Great Wall in Florence. We started with two Peking Ducks and went from there. I'm told that they have two menus: one that is for the unadventurous, the other for those who want more authentic fare....ask for the white menu.
We arrived back at the house around 10 or so and stayed up until about 2am looking at more books. There are so many books. So many truly great books. I want to write about the books...but I can't. I need to think about them more first. Maybe later...if I can find the context.
One thing, as an example: I absolutely love Leonard's exceptional Moko Maki. Tonight I explored a unique set of the images, each printed on vellum. Remarkable.
Book fair tomorrow. More books. A wonderful weekend emerging.
Just a quick post as I am in no condition to...well...be conscious. The final day of the fair was great. Seattle is really a pretty wonderful book town. Lots of people genuinely interested and engaged in a broad range of material. It is really a treat to be out here. The fair was well attended pretty much all day. Best of all, an ok fair (marginal/fair sales, great buying) ended strong with a very nice sale in the last half hour. The next few weeks will let us know just how good it was as those with interest percolate on things and...with luck...will call.
Packed up quickly and got everything to FedEx before they closed at 6pm. We then headed to
Dragonfish again for Sushi and Sake Sunday...food and drink specials early...and even better deals later. We spent about 4 hours there. It is probably a sign to leave when your very wonderful waitress tells you that they are out of the
pearl sake you've been drinking all evening. Luckily, they have 23 other types. It was a wonderful evening...book[wo]men are just great fun.
Back in the room now...redeye tomorrow evening. Bookshopping (and
Utilikilts) during the day.
Day two in Seattle was great. This is a great book fair town. The crowd, slow at the very start, ramped up rapidly and stayed strong and steady nearly all day. A lot of people, engage, interested, inquisitive and, on occasion, buying. If 20% of those who left saying they wanted to see if x, y or z was already on their shelves return and buy tomorrow (as I expect), this tomorrow should be interesting.
It is great to have done this fair long enough that people stop in that you remember (admittedly, this is a slow process for me) and, more importantly, remember you and seem genuinely pleased to see you again.
There is some genuinely great material in the Hall. I have decided to try to control myself...and be amused. The first book I purchased was "Photography for Perverts" (signed by the author). I think I am going to book-end the fair by buying a remarkable collection of William Black images. For some reason, this amuses me to no end. I also found a wonder fine press work titled "Notorious Ex Libris"...bookplates that should have been for the likes of Al Capone, Vlad the Impaler, John Waters and Martha Stewart. A student press project, brilliantly designed and executed.
After the show, I joined the fine folks of
Wessel and Lieberman for their annual Saturday night dinner and shop tour. Dinner was at the
Collins Pub. The margarita's were very good, dinner was very good...the entertainment was epic. The Kent had just finished regaling us with a tale of SLC man who "loved an emu to death". As we were coming to grips with the implications of this rather horrifying tale, the evening's entertainment began...a quartet of "experimental saxophone" players. They played, 5 feet from us, a long and loud, atonal work that...I am CERTAIN...was title, "The Lament of the Oversexed Emu". One, clearly bleating out its tortured tale while its three family keened in support. It was brilliant. Brian, I am so, so sorry you were not here...
We retired to W&L's shop where there was nibbles and drink waiting for us and their wonderful stock (including a great section of unpriced material that beckoned nearly all). There is no commerce to be done, by strict rule...it would be wrong to get one's friends liquored up and then set them loose in one's shop...but you can make piles to be dealt with at a later time . I found a handful of things that pleased me...my favorite being a little toad woodcut with a brilliantly hand-colored eye.
Tomorrow runs from 11 to 4. I'll then pack up and get the cases off to the shipper. Fingers crossed for a great day.
We were included in two "best of book blogs" lists yesterday and are flattered and honored by both.
The first was part of blog.com's ongoing program of providing internal and external "10 Best List"s. In this case, Larry Mitchell (collector, occasional dealer and special collections library) and author of the brilliant blog
The Private Library was asked to compile his
Top 10 list. Our blathering notwithstanding, it is a wonderful short list. I am pleased to say, it only added 4 that I was not already following...they have been added. Each site is described briefly so you can get a touch of flavor.
The only problem is that he was only allowed to include 10 blogs. Apparently, Larry heard about this shortcoming from a number of humans as he subsequently posted
an apology. Such lists are obviously subjective...We are very pleased to be included in Larry's best of...
[N.B. As I have said before,
The Private Library should be on everyone's blog roll...in addition to this regular and cogent posts, his navigation links provide a clearinghouse to nearly every substantive rare/used book resource available. It is the benchmark against which data-rich biblio-sites should be measured.]
OnlineSchool also included us in their "
100 Best Book Blogs for History Buffs" under the "Rare" section. They have created a much longer list, broken up into sections (e.g. Reference, Librarian, Rare, Review, etc.) and, again, most have short bios. Obviously, there is a lot of crossover, but they try reasonably hard to group things properly and the result is a good list.
It is always nice to be recognized...more so by those you respect. Enjoy the various suggestions...I'm going to have to start posting more cogent missives.
At the end of the RBMS weekend in June there was a "Farewell Reception and Dinner" for Terry Belenger, the founder and driving force behind Rare Book School. A professor at UVA and Honarary Curator of Special Collections (and 2005 MacArthur fellow), Terry is force of nature...and we are all better for it. I had only met Terry once or twice prior to taking my RBS class last week, but had heard many stories from many people...to a one with love and perhaps a touch of awe.
Many people spoke at the reception, all have known and loved Terry for years and it showed in their words. The one that struck me, however, was the last. Michael Suarez will be the new Director of Rare Book School when Terry hands over the reigns. His was one of the best such I've heard in a very long time. I emailed him to ask if I could have a copy of his speech and was told that he had no written text for them...I think you'll agree that they were not bad for extemporaneous comments. He told me that they were recorded and would be transcribed...I got a copy of the proceedings as a Keepsake. I have included his words below, because I think they are wonderful on many levels. I look forward to seeing how RBS evolves and grows during his tenure.
Please note, in honor of Terry's "retirement", RBS has created the "Directors Scholarship Fund", its goal being to raise $30,000...to date, contributions exceed $113,000. This fund will be exclusively used to fund scholarships for students who might not otherwise be able to attend. If you have not already done so, I strongly encourage you to contribute (see the link above)...if you have already given, you might consider giving again, just on principle. Also, "In Praise of Rare Book School, including the full text off all the speakers at Terry's event and a nice history of RBS, can be had at the RBS Store (you'll have to ask for it, as it does not appear to be listed online...$5/copy).
The following is the full text of Michael Suarez's comments. Enjoy.
Thank you very much indeed. I can't tell you what a privilege and pleasure it is to be here. I'm very moved by the testimonials we've all be listening to. Tonight we've heard many memories: important memories of relationships built over many years. And as I was sitting here, I was thinking about a moment a long, long time ago, when a noble king had a true humanist teacher. And Charlemangne one day asked Alcuin, "What is memory really like? To what could memory be compared? How can I as the leader of a great nation, train and understand the art of my own mind?"
Great humanist that he was, Alcuin took a deep breath and thought, and then he said to the king, "You must understand this. Memory is not like anything at all except for a great library, and everyone has this great library in his mind, in her mind. A great nation has this library even more so. And as leader of the people, you must know that even as memory is a library, so too are libraries memory. They are the precious repository of the past."
Sitting there tonight in the front row - as I was told to do! - I asked myself, to what book in the great world library might we compare this night? To what book is the great world library might we compare Rare Book School and Terry Belanger himself? It seems to me that the most appropriate book of all would be that classic by Erasmus of Rotterdam, In Praise of Folly.
Mr. Belanger, I accuse you - as many doubtless have before - of tremendous and unbridled folly. The folly of founding the Book Arts Press. The folly of starting Rare Book School. The folly, after being crushed by an uncomprehending administration, of starting everything all over again. The folly of collecting 200 lithographic stones and copper plates. The folly of sending out those Valentines! What are they for? Can someone explain? The folly of producing the biggest library address book in the entire world. The folly of evening after evening "Terrorizing!"
Terry Belenger: I accuse you - and I praise you for your folly. You are a fool for books. You are a fool for libraries. You are a fool for collectors and collecting. Terry Belenger is a fool for the enterprise that has been his life. But much more, more than all this, the man who sits before you is a fool for you.
I am a poetry teacher, and I love to teach my students figurae verborum, the classic figures of rhetoric. And when I get to the figure of oxymoron, I explain by saying, "Well, come on, you know, jumbo shrimp! military intelligence! humble Jesuit!"
Yet, I stand before you this evening deeply honored and deeply, deeply humbled to receive this great commission - to carry on, to deepen, and to extend the work of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, that has already been so supportive and so generous.
Ladies and gentlemen, the wisdom of the wise is pure folly, but the foolishness of the foolish man turns out to be true wisdom and grace.
One of the many pleasing elements of RBS was Terry's occasional quotations (his and others). Here are a smattering:
"The more you know, the less you say."
"If you can't figure it out, the trolls did it."
"The difference between the original and a reproduction is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."
"The good is the enemy of the best."
"What I know is knowledge, what I don't know is not knowledge." (quoting an Oxford don).
"I've been rich and I've been poor, rich is better." (quoting Sophie Tucker)
MEGO - "My Eyes Glaze Over"
"You can read it, can't you."
"Those who do not read put themselves at the same competitive disadvantage as those who cannot read." (quoting Mark Twain)
"I do not have time to debate whether William Shakespeare wrote the plays accredited to him or whether they were written by another man named William Shakespeare." (quoting another)
"Bibliography is not for sissies."
"The world's best woodcuts printed side to side with the world's worst halftones." (re mechanical digest (title tbd))
"One chorus girl is 100 times more interesting than 100 chorus girls." (quoting Peter Ustinov (quoting another))
"Anyone who would letterspace blackletter would steal sheep." (quoting Goudy)
"When the clock strikes 13, it casts doubt on the other 12."
I look forward to collecting more in future classes.
Final day of RBS...a sad thing, indeed. We made our last morning trip to Para Coffee with Chris and made it to our classes on time. We finished up photographic processes and reviewed our various soft-spots in the morning. After a quick lunch (Bodo Bagels, very good), we tood our Print Identification Humiliation...sorry...Test again. I did considerably better on Friday than I did on Monday. That said, what I really learned is a good sense of the depth and breadth of what I *do not know*. In the end, this is probably a very good take-away (that, and how grateful I am to know people who *really* know prints).
In the late afternoon, they opened the Notions Store and we picked up some interesting/fun things. Picked up an apron, some books and the like...the most fun was a full page of "A Study in Bibliography" in linotype (the last trade edition to be printed in linotype). Our various printing projects were hung during the wee wine & cheese gathering at the end of the day. Fun was had by all.
Following the wrap-up, we when to
Heartwood Books. I tried to sate my sense of loss by buying books...as usual, it worked quite well. We picked up a number of interesting things...the most interesting one one being an early Time Magazine advertising "book" (double elephant folio...the "history of Time as told through heraldry"). Though the 18th century book on handwriting was a treat, too.
We left C'ville around at 730pm or so and made our way to Suzanne's parents' place in Annapolis. We left this morning with an arrival ETA (per Eva, our GPS) of 6pm...but traffic and two quick stops for gas brought us home at 930pm. A very long and painful drive is over. We are home safe and sound.
I can not recommend RBS highly enough. It was a remarkably great experience. I can't wait to go back. That said, if you do go, make certain you take it seriously and embrace it in all its elements. The "seriously" part is...er...serious, we had a student "expelled" for failing to attend class (having been warned that not attending would have consequences). The issue, of course, being that each space at RBS is competitive...there are always other students who *would be* in your place if you were not. Show up and learn.
I just attended one of Terry's classes in his last year as Director. I'm hoping to be able to return next year to take a class during Michael Suarez's first year as Director. Hope springs eternal.
Another amazing day at RBS. Started as usual at our lovely inn with a great breakfast (blueberry pancakes, bacon, etc). A quick stop at Para for coffee and we were back in the room discussing color photo techniques.
We spent the morning discussing and looking at aquatints, chromo-lithos, separation (thank you, Gaylord, for your examples from
Farmers). [One color=tinted; two or more color/chromo]. When in doubt about how a technique can possibly be done, remember that it might well just be trolls doing it...
"Bibliography is not for sissies." T. Belanger
"Those who do not read put themselves at the same competitive
disadvantage as those who can not read." M. Twain.
Trivia: TB told us "All the Nat. advocates for pulping of newspapers after "scanning" were *all* ex-CIA." Unclear if this is true, but Terry gave the scouts honor sign...it must therefor be true...
We had our final lab, printing the cuts we've been working on. It worked quite well...I'll be posting images of my output later (proof-positive that I am not an artist...or even a copier...).
Lunch was exceptional.
Revolutionary Soup should not be missed by anyone coming to Charlottesville. The lunch was great, nice sandwich and *amazing* Spicy Senegalese Peanut Tofu soup. The best, however, was in the Men's Room (how often do you here than?!?). I've included an image, but it is hard to read. On the wall, next to the sink, it read, "Employees Must Wash Thier Hands Before Returning to Work". However, light pen has crossed out "Employees" and written "Petit Bourgeois Labor" above. This, in turn, has been corrected, "Lumpen Proletariat, actually" to the side. Very nice.
Bookseller's night was good fun. Stopped by several shops and met some nice dealers. Did not find anything for us, but some of our group did. Back in for the evening. Resting up for the last day. Very sad that it is almost over...
Another great day in C'ville. Today started with another great breakfast at the Inn (the peppered bacon is possibly the best I've had). Walked up with Chris Lowenstein with the usual stop at Para Coffee on the way to class.
Wrapped up steel engraving this morning (basically, steel plates are engraving with either mezzotint or stipple). The most interesting element is that the ability to engrave steel has effectively been lost as a craft...far easier to work in copper and then coat with (one molecule) of steel. Far easier and longer lasting... Work by Sartain is remarkable. Must find myself a copy of The Ironworker.
Mattoir-A very cool tool used for stippling.
"MEGO"-My Eyes Glaze Over.
RBS moto: "You can read it, can't you?"
Moved on to Lithography. "Mother stones" are used to "save" images (often broken large stones used). Daughter stones used for printing. Very uncommon to find daughter stones with retained image as they are easily cleaned and reused...those that remain tend to remain by accident or serendipity. We were given Necco wafers to "wear" until they split as a means to understand wear and death of daughter stones....
First lithos began circe 1805...common by 1820...started seeing using in the US in the late teens. Intaglio and lithography fight it out for a while (text still dominantly letterpress)...tipping point around 1870 (pre=engraving; post=lithography).
Spent our afternoon lab etching plates. I'll post the results later. Shockingly, it actually worked and the output was not shockingly horrible (admittedly, nor was it good ). Hard to fail to understand the complexities of a process when you actually give it a try (even at a very simple level. We etched zinc plates in nitric acid at a rather high concentration with dip and rinse. A steel plate might take dozens (and dozens) of cycles...amazing craft.
Then moved on to COLOR. Saw an amazing example of "art" color litho...with separation that required 22 unique stones to create the final image. Amazing. More on color tomorrow...
Spent the evening finishing up the detail work on my linocut for tomorrows lab. I really can't recommend
this program highly enough...both Suz and I have had a great time, learned a great deal and had great fun with our classmates.
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Steven Gertz has posted a very nice article at BookPatrol on the rather amazing collection of Hefner material I spent several weeks cataloguing. Steven focuses on one elements, Hefner's brilliant cartoon. Hefner, as a young man, wanted to be a cartoonist (and did the early cartoons for Playboy). 
had a great time visiting Friday and Saturday, telling her all about our trip CA (us), school (Eli), and FL (mom & dad). She was among the last of a dying breed...the product of finishing school and Columbia...she was simply elegant. I recall her using a swear once in my life, and that to scold a table full of men (dad, Dr. Weaver, Granddaddy and Uncle Milton) who were discussing *very* disgusting things (she said, as I recall, "Damn it, I will not have this language at the dinner table").
Well, we have made it safely...our books made it safely and all is well. We arrived on Tuesday and had the afternoon to have a wonderful late lunch at 
"En Afrique, quand un vieillard meurt, c’est une bibliothèque qui brûle."--Amadou Hampâté Bâ
Our condolences.