Rare Book Monthly

Articles - May - 2008 Issue

The Gold Rush Book Fair May 17th in Grass Valley, California

An opportunity for collectors.

An opportunity for collectors.


By Bruce McKinney

As certain as the arrival of spring birds the Gold Rush Book Fair enters the calendars of those who live in northern California, who visit and who buy, sell, collect and trade the printed word in all its many forms. With fifty to fifty-five exhibitors it's a typical regional fair with a distinctive emphasis on collectible material, in particular the American west.

It's the 8th annual fair and this the 6th year it's held at the Nevada County Fair Grounds on the outskirts of Grass Valley. In this location it's both close to downtown and just far enough away to make parking easy. The fair is three hours northeast of San Francisco and sixty minutes northeast of Sacramento. It's a one day event Saturday May 17th.

As is custom, the event begins with an exhibitors' dinner on Friday evening. This year Michael Good of Woodacre, long-time Bay Area bookman, is both honored guest bookseller and speaker at the dinner. Mr. Good is an engaging character. The event will be held at the Masonic Lodge under the guiding hand of Waynette Trovato, an outstanding chef whose husband is the police chief. No complaints are expected.

The appeal of this and similar regional books fairs is very straightforward. A significant percentage of material offered at such fairs is undocumented, in particular the ephemera which can appear insubstantial but is hardly inconsequential. Such material illuminates the spaces between books which are typically well documented and newspapers that are known in outline but rarely searchable by date, name, place and event. Here you have an opportunity to parse obscure material and acquire relevant pieces.

The event is organized by John and Susie Hardy who, between shows, make a living as Hardy Books of Nevada City. John, a former lawyer, now makes only arresting observations between sales of the printed word.

As we go to press a few spaces remain. The booth rent is an affordable $290. For the experienced bookseller it's two days in the country, for the neophyte bookseller a chance to be behind the table so to gain a seller’s experience.

For book, manuscript and ephemera collectors, it's the opportunity to catch up with old friends and old materials newly uncovered. Collectors, new to the field or simply new to this event, will find a collegial community interested to work with you.

All things show related, contact information, a map and directions will be found via this link to the Gold Rush Book Fair's web site. Mr. Hardy can be reached by phone at 530.470.0189 for those interested to exhibit.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby'sSell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts Sotheby'sSell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Leland Little, Jan. 22: The First Issue of Robert Frost's A Boy's Will, In Extremely Scarce Binding.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: Knight's An Account of the Remains of the Worship of Priapus.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: First Edition of Locke's Important Treatise Some Thoughts Concerning Education.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: The Richly Illustrated First French Edition of Voyages de Corneille Le Brun par la Moscovie, en Perse, et aux Indes Orientales.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: Scarce First Issue of An Account of the Province of Carolina in America, Finely Bound and With Celebrated John Speed Map.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: Humphrey's An Historical Account, Complete with Scarce Folding Maps.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: First Edition of Chamberlain's Scarce Civil War Memoir The Passing of the Armies.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: A Rare Photograph of David Bruce Brown and #48 Fiat.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: George Cruikshank (England, 1792-1878), Archive of Sketches, Notes, and Letters.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: Extremely Scarce Copy of Die Samländische Ode (The Samland Ode), Signed by Max Pechstein.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: Andy Warhol's The Thirteen Most Wanted Men Exhibition Catalogue.
    Leland Little, Jan. 22: Edward Ruscha (American, b. 1937), Every Building on the Sunset Strip.
  • RareBookBuyer.comWe Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide RareBookBuyer.comWe Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide

Article Search

Archived Articles

Ask Questions