Month: December 2010

Burligton Iowa, I’m sold! Book dated 1883. I’d certainly go see if it were true or merely bold talk.

From
Love’s Book Store
Full of Books
and
Elegant Goods
Hedges Block
Burlington, Iowa

One of my very favorite areas of the bibliofilic world is book trade labels. I have a modest collection I’m pretty proud of. There are a few websites devoted to these gems of the book world, and now there is another, http://www.booksellerlabels.com/ Gabe Konrad of Bay Leaf Used & Rare Books has put together a wonderful site with lots of great information all gathered into a convenient, useful site.

He sorts through some of the questions of what is a book trade label, provides a very useful list of references, even providing links to how he had some labels made for his own shop.

The image to the right is a few of my own labels I’ve printed as a postcard. I’m thinking of doing a series.

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I hope you already subscribe to the fantastic blog Bookman’s Log. Greg Gibson has interesting posts, but today’s is just wonderful. A rare glimpse into what and why bibliophiles love books so much. I’m also pleased to see he’s tackling writing the story of John Ledyard… now if we could find an inventory of the books he owned… He was a fascinating guy, tattoos and all.

I’m still looking for guidance on book hunting in Minneapolis! Let me know!

Happy Birthday to Emily Dickinson, who was born this day in 1830.

The one thing we were able to accomplish (really) during my time with the Bibliophiles of Oklahoma, was a donation of a Washington Irving volume to Emily Dickinson personal library project: Replenish the Shelves at the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Washington Irving has an interesting connection to Oklahoma having visited here when it was practically a mission to the moon to accomplish. It made an easy choice. I wonder if there was a Montana connection to Emily Dickinson’s library? I may need to get her a birthday present.

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Penguin Books has another great exhibition for me to share. The main idea is to:
“… print, etch, sculpt, photograph, whatever their medium, whatever their style… create a book cover for a novel of their choice, a book that has inspired them, a book that has had a profound impact on them or a book that they remember fondly as a child … all that we asked was that they create their original artwork to the traditional format and size of a Penguin book 198mm (h) x 129mm (w)”

You, dear reader, can view 100 entries here. Many, many, many of these would be very happy to live on my shelf. Just sayin’.

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About the Author: Benjamin L. Clark writes and works as a museum curator.

The Guild of Book Workers 100th Anniversary Exhibition is hitting the road! Check the schedule here.

But, maybe you’re like me and the closest it’s coming is 800+ miles, so I won’t be able to check it out in person. HOWEVER, do not fret, do not frown! You can see the exhibit online with huge detailed photos of each submission. My favorite: Melinda Padgett’s Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop. I like traditional binding forms that are able to draw creatively on the themes/ elements/ whatever from the story within. This is fantastic and I would weep with joy to be able to put such a beautiful book on my shelf.

Don’t forget to take a few minutes for the historic review of the Guild’s previous submissions.

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