Rare Book Monthly Articles - October - 2003 Issue

Book Lust and the Cultural Erotics of Fine Printing

Book Lust and the Cultural Erotics of Fine Printing

By Megan BentonA talk delivered to the Roxburghe Club, 16 September 2003 Copyright 2003 Near the end of the nineteenth century, American essayist and avid book collector Eugene Field published a book entitled The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac. In it he tells one tale after another, all with the same theme—that if forced to choose between a woman and a beloved book, a sensible man would be better off with the book. He even wryly speculates that if a woman works hard and behaves well, she just might be lucky enough to come back in another life as a book, “to be petted, fondled, belove...

It’s Old, But Is It Valuable?

It’s Old, But Is It Valuable?

By Mike Stillman One of the assumptions of the new collector, or the non-collector who discovers a trove of old books in the attic, is that if a book is old it must be valuable. Certainly anything...

Three New Catalogues of Americana

Three New Catalogues of Americana

By Mike Stillman This month we review three catalogues of Americana, from David Lesser, Flo Silver, and Harold Nestler. They cover the United States, South and Central America, and New York Stat...

The Dutch Dominie of the Catskills<br>By David Murdoch

The Dutch Dominie of the Catskills<br>By David Murdoch

A review and commentary by Bruce McKinney Table of Contents A review of The Dutch Dominie of the Catskills, a work of historical fiction written by the Rev. Doctor David Murdoch and pub...

The Doctrine of Caiaphas by  Rev. David Murdoch D.D.

The Doctrine of Caiaphas by Rev. David Murdoch D.D.

The following is from Mr. Robinson: - Elmira, May 5, 1851 Rev. and Dear Sir: I learned, Saturday evening, from a source considered reliable, that a minority of our Committee had written...

The obituary of the Rev. Doctor David Murdoch

The obituary of the Rev. Doctor David Murdoch

Died On the morning of Thursday, June 13, at the Parsonage on William-street, Elmira, Rev. David Murdoch, D.D., aged 60 years. In the death of Dr. Murdoch not only his family and his church ...

Two obituaries of Tracy Beadle

Two obituaries of Tracy Beadle

Affectionate ones had not been neglectful of those graceful offices, which while being the last tokens of love and respect, we may pay to the dead, are at the same time symbols of the life which is...

The First Presbyterian Church

The First Presbyterian Church

Elmira, New York 160th Anniversary 1795-1955 “1831 to 1843 was a season of revival in these parts and we had many accessions. In 1846, all resolutions denouncing slavery having been tabled...

Lake Street Presbyterian Church

Lake Street Presbyterian Church

David Murdoch, D. D. Was born at Bonhill in Scotland Oct. 4th, 1800 At the age of 29 he was graduated at The University of Glasgow. He studied theology in that city with The late Ralph Wa...

Future Libraries<br>Dreams Madness & Reality<br>By Walt Crawford and Michael Gorman

Future Libraries<br>Dreams Madness & Reality<br>By Walt Crawford and Michael Gorman

A Review and Perspective by Bruce McKinney In 1995 Walt Crawford and Michael Gorman wrote this book about the future of libraries. They sought to make the case that the headlong dash into the ...

Here Be Dragons: Navigating the Terra Incognita of International Book Sales

Here Be Dragons: Navigating the Terra Incognita of International Book Sales

By Renee Roberts October 17, 2003. Harwich Port, Cape Cod, MA. The Internet has been touted as opening up the global world of sales to individual retailers, and this is certainly true. What “nor...

Herd on the Street

Herd on the Street

The sell side of the market is clearly coming into view and there are going to be a variety of options sufficient to satisfy both immediate and long term sellers. It is important to note that the ...

Trivial Pursuit?<br>Collecting Vice-President William R. King

Trivial Pursuit?<br>Collecting Vice-President William R. King

His mission completed, King returned to the states and tried to regain his old seat in the senate. In a three-way contest, King was unsuccessful, the only loss of his electoral career. However, i...

This Month&#146;s New Catalogues:<br>Travels, Americana, and More

This Month&#146;s New Catalogues:<br>Travels, Americana, and More

By Mike Stillman This month we review four new booksellers’ catalogues. They are an outstanding group. Helen Kahn gives us “Voyages and Travels,” William Reese the USA oriented “National Pride,...

The Value of AE Services

The Value of AE Services

By Bruce McKinney For many the idea of buying at book auctions is a daunting enterprise. What many dealers regularly do all others will have to learn to handle. You can buy flowers at the ...

Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair:  A Successful Show

Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair: A Successful Show

By Bruce McKinney There is life in the book trade after all and it was in evidence over the weekend of October 10 and 11 in a beautifully staged show in Seattle on the grounds of the 1962 World’...

H.P. Kraus Reference Library<br>At Auction This Month

H.P. Kraus Reference Library<br>At Auction This Month

Tuesday afternoon’s second session begins with History Reference followed by Literary Reference. Many fields are covered under History Reference, such as bibles, religion, bibliophiles, the book tr...

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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.
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