Rare Book Monthly

Articles - August - 2020 Issue

Are Live Book Fairs Done for the Year?

Cancelled – the 2020 Chelsea Rare Book Fair (Chelsea Book Fair photo).

Cancelled – the 2020 Chelsea Rare Book Fair (Chelsea Book Fair photo).

There is still almost half of the year left, but it may not be too soon to ask, will there be any more live book fairs in 2020? The last of the major fairs this year was held at the beginning of March, the ABAA fair in New York. It just got in under the wire, and even so, a few attendees returned home with an unwelcome guest, Covid 19. All fairs since then and through the summer have been cancelled. Is there still a chance we will see another before the New Year rings in?


Much planning and arranging is needed to put on a fair, so it does not lend itself to last minute decisions. No one wants to do all that work, plus put up money for a venue, if the whole thing may need to be cancelled at the last minute. Still, many events are operating in that manner. For example, various professional sports are tentatively restarting, with the possibility they will have to be shut down again. Baseball has restarted, without fans, but with half the players on one team, the Miami Marlins, coming down with the virus, the Marlins have had to cancel a week's worth of games. This happens to a few more teams and it's hard to imagine they can get in a full schedule. Besides which, their model wouldn't work for book fairs anyway. What would be the point of a book fair if no one could attend?

 

What about school? School districts and colleges everywhere are wrestling with this one. For the most part, decisions still haven't been made, and they need to reopen if they are going to do so long before the end of the year. They haven't made decisions yet on whether to reopen in August and September.

 

College sports also offer a thorny problem. Will fall sports go on? Football is the notable one here as for many colleges, football is an important source of revenue. Can teams play sports if the schools themselves are closed, with all classes being held online? Should they play if fans can't attend? For most, there is not much of a revenue opportunity other than fans attending games in person, unlike professional sports that can still make money though televised games.

 

So where does that leave book fairs? Our guess is that they are done. The time needed to prepare for a major fair is too long. Perhaps small, local ones will still be possible if conditions improve, but not likely for the bigger ones. Confirmation of that just came from an announcement a few days ago from the ABA concerning the Chelsea Rare Book fair for 2020. It was scheduled for November 6-7. In a statement, the organizers said, “Following much deliberation, we made the decision based on the current and projected COVID19 travel restrictions for our international booksellers as well as social distancing measures which continue to alter the way we would traditionally hold book fairs.” No decision has been made yet whether to hold an online fair in its stead.

 

It should be noted that some 2020 fairs have not been cancelled as of yet, including the late October, early November ABAA fair in Boston.

 

Perhaps the real question now is what will happen in 2021. The ABAA fairs in New York and California come early in the year. When will a decision have to be made with these? There seems to be no sign of a let up in the pandemic anytime soon and even optimistic estimates put off the arrival of a vaccine to early 2021. You might want to make reservations for New York, but I wouldn't do so unless they are fully refundable.


Posted On: 2020-08-01 04:01
User Name: scientiabk

"It should be noted that some 2020 fairs have not been cancelled as of yet, including the late October, early November ABAA fair in Boston."

This is out of date. The ABAA book fair in Boston (Hynes convention center) has been cancelled. There are plans for a virtual book fair in its place.

Malcolm Kottler
Scientia books, ABAA ILAB


Posted On: 2020-08-01 04:27
User Name: andrewnadell

The SLAM Paris fair is apparently still scheduled at the Grand Palais, September 18 to 20, 2020, with the vernissage by invitation the evening of Thursday September 17, 2020.


Rare Book Monthly

  • Freeman’s | Hindman
    Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana
    November 14
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.
  • Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE
    Le Neptune Oriental
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSAS
    Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSINI DE THURY
    Carte générale et particulière de la France.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    JOUY; GARNERAY
    Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LA PÉROUSE
    Voyage autour du monde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE
    Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LICENT
    Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY
    Panorama d’Athènes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PEETERS
    Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PÉRON; FREYCINET
    Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    STACKELBERG
    La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    VALENTINER
    Atlas des Sonnensystems.
  • Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
  • Doyle
    Stage & Screen
    November 14 & 15
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A studio-sanctioned Darth Vader Touring Costume from The Empire Strikes Back. $50,000 to $100,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: An original Al Hirschfeld's illustration of the cast of On Golden Pond. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: The largest trove of personal Grace Kelly letters to come to market. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: An Important Archive of Musical Manuscripts of Truman Capote and Harold Arlen's House of Flowers. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: The archive of an original Merrily We Roll Along Broadway cast member. $5,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Jerry Herman's Yamaha Model C7 Ebonized Grand Piano. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A large group of Jerry Herman musical posters. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Group of awards presented to Jerry Herman. $300 to $400.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Six pages of original art for "The MAD Game of Basebrawl," a complete story published in MAD #167, pages 31-36, June 1974. $3,000 to $4,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A MAD book made for Al Jaffee, containing original art and writings from many MAD contributors. 2011. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A Jaffee-themed MAD Fold-In - "What honor should the creator of the MAD Fold-Ins be given?" $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: MAD Fold-In - "What developing news story has many Americans totally transfixed?" $800 to $1,200.
  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
    Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD

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