The Bookseller’s dilemma: the world is changing
Problems in bookselling have long been understood. Shops closing, books going online, loss of face-to-face contact, rising quantities, aging dealers, fewer new dealers and changing collecting perspectives are all factors in a once sedentary field that now evolves in real time. In effect, the old world has become old hat and a disappearing hat at that.
Some fifteen years ago, a few dealers, sensing that the long-term impact of exponentially rising online book listings would eventually alter valuations negatively, began to adjust and r...
An auction at Christie's last month brought to a conclusion a story very long in the making. The collection was remarkable, though not as remarkable as the history behind it. This was a story of su...
If it is July it is time for the annual Newtown, Connecticut book fair organized by the Friends of the C. H. Booth Library. This event, which begins on Saturday July 12th, runs through the followi...
Yesterday was my first time—and it was great!
It all started at 2 p.m., when my computer screen suddenly broadcast the images of some red-carpeted walls, and the confused sounds of an auction s...
Veteran Massachusetts bookseller Joyce Godsey has written a short and useful guide to basic book repairs. Her advice is: “If the book is worth more than $250, send it to a professional or sell it A...
Turning to the public markets for funding of businesses in the selling of old books seems to be gaining some steam, at least in England. In May, Scholium Group, whose main business is Shapero Rare ...
Alice Springer at the Friends of the Seattle Public Library spoke with me last week as 21 items the Friends had posted on eBay were grinding toward their conclusion. The sale had come to my attent...
Old books regularly show up in the news. Something old, something new. A few such stories caught my eye this past month.
The first story involves the all too common subject of book theft. Usual...
On July 11th Profiles in History continues the series “Property of a Distinguished Collector” with Part Four. Parts 1 to 3 raised $11.5 million. One hundred and twelve lots are offered in Part IV...
In a bizarre twist of events in the Apple eBooks case, Apple has negotiated a payment settlement with those harmed by its alleged price fixing, even as it continues to contest the claim they ever f...
I'm going to keep this article brief because Dreweatts Bloomsbury Auctions' sale of Modern and Contemporary Prints is one that words can only do so much for. Featuring prints from well-known and i...
Did San Francisco's Police Chief just “diss” books? We aren't sure what to make of a comment he recently made. Surely, there's another explanation. From everything we know, Chief Greg Suhr is a fin...
This month we have 10 new catalogues up for review. Whitmore Rare Books presents a catalogue of exceptional literature. Antiquates Fine Rare Books offers works from British authors and collectors....
![Sotheby’s: Ernest Hemingway. Three Stories And Ten Poems, [Paris], (1923). First edition of Hemingway’s first published book. $75,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/acf970a0-a15d-4c79-aa24-5e8e414cb465.png "<b>Sotheby’s:</b> Ernest Hemingway. <i>Three Stories And Ten Poems,</i> [Paris], (1923). First edition of Hemingway’s first published book. $75,000.")
