This fall, I traveled for the first time since the pandemic. So, naturally, I turned the trip into another book-related exploration. I was fortunate to be in Oxford during three significant book-related exhibits: the International Designer Bookbinders Exhibit, the Bodleian's exhibit entitled Sensational Books focusing on the senses that are evoked through reading books, and the Ashmolean's exhibit on the Pre-Raphaelite artists, including their book illustrations.
These are photos of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, printed at Pennyroyal Press in 1982 with wood engravings by Barry Moser. Bookbinder Philip Smith completed the forwarding of these two fine press books over in the U.K., but the binding was not completed before his death. He made a notation on the colophon at the back of both regarding when he had started the forwarding of the books.
Bernard Quaritch Ltd. is one of London's oldest antiquarian booksellers and played a fascinating role in book history going back to 1847.
I joined the Book Club of California last week and received an envelope filled with back issues of their newsletter, journal (letterpress printed and edited by Peter Koch, no less), and other information from past publications, talks, and exhibits.
We are in the long and complex process of building a new house. The house will have space for a library, a rare book room, and a studio for my book repair work. I've been dreaming about having enough room for my books since I was a little girls. When we started the planning process, I thought it would be easy to explain what I wanted to the architect and interior designer. The library was so clear in my head. Of course it wasn't that simple.
A few lessons acquired thus far: Antique stores are not places to find quality books unless you are looking for books merely to decorate a wall or table and care more about the color of the binding than the actual book itself (I could totally go off on a tangent here about how this practice … Continue reading Early Lessons Learned in the Book Trade
Book hunting is a past-time I've enjoyed since I was old enough to be trusted to browse through antique shops with my parents. As I'm learning more about the book world, I've discovered that my methods of book hunting, while loads of fun for me, were not skilled in the eyes of a professional book hunter, also called a "book scout."
This weekend I finished Books: A Memoir, by Larry McMurtry. The book was recommended to me last year by a rare book librarian in my California Rare Book School class at Berkeley. To have lived a long life surrounded by books and to have the thrill of getting in new stock and the pleasure of browsing through it - I can't imagine a more rewarding day of work.
This weekend I am heading out to Berkeley to attend my first CODEX Book Fair & Symposium. I had the privilege of taking a California Rare Books Course with Master Printer, Peter Koch this past August, where I first learned about this event and have been anticipating it ever since. Peter is one of the … Continue reading Codex 2017
Of Paper and Ink 