I bought this for $5 a while ago. I have no idea what it is. The seller proudly proclaimed it was a very antique bookbinding tool. No, he didn’t know I have an interest in bookbinding, so I wasn’t baited. Too badly. Anyway, does have a bit of age on it, wood turned screws, etc. It is not very big, and hinged at the back. I think it’s the back. It has been used a lot, the screws have worn corresponding holes in the board they push against. Of course, there are no markings. The only thing I can think of is it is used to trim small text blocks. One photo has a standard sized Zebra ink pen for scale. Anyone?
Tour de livres Prague
Tour de livres Prague
Leopard Bikini Found in Book
Had another book safari for the ages. I found some great books for myself, but also found an instruction book on Hawking! I’m not interested in hawking, personally, at least beyond the theoretical. Don’t get me wrong, training raptors to hunt for you is cool, but I already have too many hobbies. But what a fun book to sit with and learn a little from!
And also, if you’re like me, there is never quite enough money for the books I want, so when I find other interesting books I know are collectible in their own right, I pick them up and send them along to more appreciative owners. Like hawk trainers. For money.
Flipping through the book once I was home, I found a great flyaway. Flyaways are the little bits of stuff we leave in our books to be found later. Receipts, movie tickets, torn off bits are the norm, but I once found a chocolate chip and 30+-year-old pornography carefully Exacto knifed and taped into a compact accordion of pocket smut. Not in the same book, though. Some old-time booksellers refer to flyaways as “hay” though more and more collectors, booksellers, and antique dealers now refer to it as ephemera.
I know you doubt it, but the post card is actually hawking related. The Rare Bird Farm in Miami Florida sent a message to the effect “No, we don’t have hawks”. Photo by Bunny Yeager. Now to decide if I should sell the postcard separate on ebay, or just leave it in the book where I found it for the next guy.
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Prodigious Redux
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Curator of Rare Books Stephen Ferguson shared a wonderful quote prompted by the earlier posting:
“The open mouth, and raised arms with open hands turned outwards, is an expression of astonishment very general all over the world. Mr. Darwin explains the open mouth by a complication of causes, but he omits to notice, what seems to me a very probable one, that it represents an incipient cry of alarm or fear, or call for help. The raising of the arms and the open hands are explained by antithesis, they being the opposite of a state of indifference or listlessness.”
This quote is from a review of Darwin’s The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, 1879.
Be sure to pop over to Stephen’s Blog from the Princeton University Library Rare Books and Special Collections. Thanks Stephen!
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Prodigious Bookstore, Iowa 1858
Seller’s Description:
Dubuque, IA” Prodigious” Bookstore Illus Letterhead, 1858
Letter from Couch & Gilbert, proprietors of the “Prodigious” Store, a book store in Dubuque, Iowa. We’re not able to interpret the illustration of the man with his arms in the air, but those are books on the shelves. Text is about the wholesale price of dictionaries. Letter sent to G & C Merriam, publishers of Websters. The note at bottom is in the hand of one of the Merriams, either George or Charles. Dated August 20, 1858. Condition: mailing/filing folds. Otherwise VG. 5″ X 7 3/4″.
Sold for $17.05 25 Sept. 08, not to me.
Advertisement for firm in publication dated 1860 found via GoogleBooks.
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Illustrated bookseller cover book cover
That can be taken so many ways.
June 6, 1898: C.J. Veits, Bookseller, Stationer, News Dealer, Book and Job Printer No. 4 Main St. New London, Conn. Illustrated advertising cover. 4 1/2 by 7 inches
A beautifully illustrated cover, with an illustration of a book with a fine binding and the Bookseller’s information on the cover. One of the best advertising covers I’ve seen in a while, and a design I’ve not seen before.
Stereotyping at short notice
Spotted on ebay:
Billhead of Munsell & Rowland, operators of a steam printing house on State Street, Albany, New York, has illustration of a Ruggles Patent press. Bill sent to G & C Merriam, publishers of Webster’s Dictionary, for advertising in Webster’s Almanac, evidently published by Munsell & Rowland. Condition: small tears, creases, at bottom edge; mailing folds, minor creases. Otherwise VG. 4 7/8″ X 7 5/8″.
Manicule!
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I love old bookmarks. Suprisingly, I don’t see as many as I would suspect issued by Book Stores. I see far more regular trade cards than bookmarks, even though it seems like a similar amount of effort and cost would be involved. Anyway, this is one of the most delightful book marks I’ve seen in a while and had to share it. Of course, it was spotted on ebay.
Seller’s Description:
Size is 2 1/2″ long. The back is blank. Wanamaker’s was a Philadelphia based store that also had a few satellite stores. One was in Harrisburg which I used to shop in before they closed about 15 or so years ago. Wanamaker’s dates to before 1900.
Sold for $61.00, not to me.
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Fame!
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I was regretting a late supper at IHOP, out of town with work and feeling a little low. Do you know what I mean? It isn’t fun staying in a strange town and not feeling well. I remembered I left my phone on the charger while at supper and noticed I had a new message. That is when fame found me, in the Marriott Courtyard in Santa Fe. My friend and fellow bibliophile Dr. RB called to congratulate me on my newfound fame and appearing in print. Apparently the Exile Bibliophile blog is mentioned in the current issue of Rare Book Review! I had no idea, but couldn’t be more pleased. Well, maybe if they sent me a subscription …
Confession: I read every new issue of this magazine cover-to-cover, but very rarely buy it. Published in the UK and flown to the US in Dom Perignon powered golden airplanes, this is a pricey magazine at $78 per annum for 6 issues. Don’t misunderstand me, this is a fabulous magazine, but I can’t afford it. So, when you’re sitting in Barnes and Noble, drinking the free water and leaving sweaty, smudgy fingerprints all over Rare Book Review, you’re not alone. I do it too.
About the Author: Benjamin L. Clark writes and works as a museum curator.