[mc4wp_form id="1782"]

Festivus and Blog Love

Well, the holidays are in full swing. We celebrated Festivus at work yesterday with a potluck, airing of grievances and feats of strength. Airing of grievances done “suggestion box” style. Anonymous. Well, as anonymous as possible. For our feats of strength we had a brutal Rock-Paper-Scissor tourney. The physical feat of strength determines our Head of Household for the following year. We then broke up into teams and had our mental feats: 1980s edition Trivial Pursuit. My team did not do all that well. The other teams got questions related to sit-coms, we got Czech politics. While I’m wasting electricity telling strangers about my week, my folks are visiting for Christmas and will be arriving tonight. TO-NIGHT! Add it all up and it makes me think of the town I grew up in, Lincoln Nebraska. I loved living there. I was thrilled a couple months ago to find the deed issued from a bookseller there. I added this cover from the same seller to my collection as well. Turns out, it’s from the same year, only a couple months earlier. I still don’t know a whole lot about Leighton and Brown. There was a Leighton Ave. I recall. I wonder if there’s a connection.

Sarah, from Sarah’s Books- Used and Rare alerted me that my email is not listed anywhere! Like I said, I’m not the best with this computer stuff. benjaminlclark@gmail.com is now visible in my profile.

From the blog love files, Marty at the Ephemera Blog was kind enough to include me in the Ten Great Book Blogs list. Thanks Marty!

I subscribe to both of these blogs in my Google Reader. They should be in yours!

Happy Holidays all!

The Bibliophiles of Oklahoma

A big THANK YOU to Mr. Lewis Jaffe of Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie for mentioning the Bibliophiles of Oklahoma. I’ve certainly noticed that Lewis’s blog is read not only by bookplate collectors, but bibliophiles of all stripes. I hope those residents of Oklahoma would come on over and help me found The Bibliophiles of Oklahoma. It has been about a year since I decided to put myself out there to start a book collector club. Of course, I need other book collectors. The problem is, I haven’t met any. I do have the name of a university librarian who is willing to join once things get off the ground. I’ve also had an in-state bookseller offer lots of… feedback on the place holder website I threw up. If you’ve used your eyes at my blog (rather than on google reader or such) or ventured over to the BoOK site, you’ll see right away that I’m not very web savvy. Suggestions on improving the BoOK website, or my blog are welcome. Anyone know how to widen the usable area in the middle?

Thanks Lewis!

Stereoviews and Booksellers Update

More bookseller back stamps found. My favorite to date is the ad from Frank B. Clark from Portland Maine. Mr. Clark features a circulating library, and informs us that stereoscopic views are 5 cents. Not only do we get an interesting look at Mr. Clark’s business, but whoever did the typography and chose the ornaments did a very nice job. Then I looked at the offering of JR Barlow and noticed it’s the same frame. Did the printers of the stereoviews print the frames on the back, allowing for the retailer to insert their information? Providing blank space seems to have been the norm for things like trade cards during the later 1800s. Why not on stereoviews? I did find a paper label, like those placed in books, usually at the bottom of the front or rear endpaper, on the back of a stereoview. Did find another back stamp from Bergquest and Johnson in Duluth, Minnesota. This example, from the New York Public Library does not mention that they are booksellers, rather that they are “SPECIAL AGENTS/ For Whitney & Zimmerman’s Celebrated Views of/ Minnesota Scenery. /(Send for Catalogue).” Also, in this week’s findings, another rubber stamp. I had read on a stereoview collector’s website that generally paper labels precede rubber stamps. When rubber stamps came along, did they eclipse the use of paper labels? I know some bookstores today still use rubber stamps, especially paperback exchange types. You don’t see many shops using small labels today. I can think of one…

Booksellers and Stereoviews

Scouring the world for bookseller ephemera for the American Book Trade Index, I’ve discovered stereoviews. I love ’em. Stereoviews are taken with a special camera which will produce two very similar images, when placed side by side in a special viewer, create a 3-D experience for the viewer. I really like ones featuring print shop interiors. Apparently these were very popular, beginning in the years following the Civil War until well in to the 20th Century. That’s a guess, as there are millions of these things still in every antique shop from here to anywhere, and private stashes are still being rediscovered. I remember going to an estate sale, I got some very nice WWII related books and stuff, and there were tens of thousands of stereoviews and an huge viewer thingy. I wish I could have bought them, but I was a broke and ignorant grad student at the time. She only wanted $300 by the time I got to the sale. Kinda like the time I passed on a hefty box of matchbooks. The newest ones were from the mid-1940s. Dumb. Back to the stereoviews at hand. It wasn’t only photographers and lithography companies producing and selling these images. I’ve found that booksellers also, at a minimum, sold these little delightful images. Now, I’ve learned that stereoview aficionados collect these images by several methods. By method of photography, only original prints, and content of images. These can be broken into predictable categories like location, trains, cowboys, early racing, ships, military, ooh-la-la (this is a paraphrase), and to my delight: occupational. In occupational categories one can find printers, paper mill inspectors, and booksellers. Lots of crossover collecting going on here, I’m sure. A few brave souls even collect stereoviews according to the back stamp. The first two images have big crisp labels added to the backs, which suggest a regular trade in these views. One featuring a view of the local marina, the other a shot from Yosemite National Park, another hot collecting area. The third is different on several accounts. It is stamped at the back with an ink hand stamp one would see inside books sold by dealers from early on down to today. The first view is an overall shot of the back, the second of the stamp in detail. I close with an image at the front of this interesting piece, which is the establishment of A. Burt and Co. with the proprietor and the Co. standing proudly in front. The seller theorized it was made as a give-away novelty judging by the age (1870s) and the overall “feel”. Oh, this image was like my earlier experiences… it got away from me too… Of course, larger images can be accessed by clicking any of these. Anyone know anything more concrete, or have other examples of booksellers selling stereoviews?

Mystery in Iowa

JHE Stelling, Bookbinder, Stationer, Printer and Blank Book Manufacturer had these labels made up, according to the seller, in the 1860s. I bought this particular example off everyone’s favorite online auction site. Boy was I suprised when it arrived in the mail. It’s HUGE! I mean, I was expecting the little labels you typically find stuck on an endpaper somewhere, under 1 inch in any direction. You know the type. The kind of thing usually seen over at Seven Roads Book Trade Label Gallery. This thing is displayed here at nearly life size. It’s HUGE! Anyway, my main concern is the history of the Stelling concern. Was Stelling at work in the 1860s? When did they arrive in Des Moines? Did they come from somewhere else, go anywhere else? Why is this label so big? Googling JHE Stelling did not reveal anything. Any ideas, guesses or knowing?

Printing like it’s 1907!

I’m way behind on my updates but, I’ve got some cool stuff to show off! As an explanation though, I’ve been busy at work. Last Friday was the 100th Anniversary of Oklahoma Statehood. If you live here, it’s a big deal. If you’re employed by the state historical society, it’s an even bigger deal. Anyway, I got to go up to Guthrie, Oklahoma, which was the capital in 1907, and spend the day running presses for folks at the State Capital Publishing Museum. I got to run a 100+ year old Chandler & Price (Old Style) and other stuff. Unfortunately for everyone around me, I want a real press now. Don’t tell my Baltimore #11, or my Nervine Press. They’re old biddies and get real jealous. This first photo is the front of the 1902 State Capital Publishing building. You can click on the photo for more info, if so inlcined. The bleachers are there for the parade and the Statehood proclimation because it was in this building the telegraph arrived that Theodore Roosevelt had signed Oklahoma into Statehood. I stood close by when the grandson of the man who ran out and hollered “Oklahoma is a State!”, did just as his grandfather had done 100 years ago. Then we shot our guns in the air and hollered some more. Oklahoma is a fun place to live. Back to the beginning.

This isn’t the museum I normally work at, so I was looking forward to a day out of the office, and having some fun. First thing, I cut paper. Typically, this isn’t a fun task, but when you get to use a 1910s Oswego 44″ blade cutter, it was extremely cool. This thing takes the whole body to operate, and can cut half a ream at a time! Also, I was told Oswegos were known for a bad design that did not ensure the blade locked in the up position after a cut. It had a nasty habit of dropping just as you would reach in for your fresh cut paper. I was told to always use a stick to get the paper out. See the stick in my hand? No, I’m not sticking my hand in there, I used the stick. I don’t care what it looks like. I’d already pulled the paper past the cutting point. If all this talk of vintage printing/ bookbinding equipment makes you “geek out” as bad as I do, here’s another shot of a non-public area of the museum: You should be able to click on any photo and get much larger versions. Believe me, there is a lot, lot, lot, lot more. Here’s another shot of me at the Oswego. A bit of another standing press and an old Hancock monster in the foreground:
I ended up having to dust off the Hancock and use it after the Oswego decided to become difficult. It got determined to take a finger or two, I decided not to part ways with any of me… so I switched. However, it was hard finding a sharpish spot on the Hancock blade to cut the paper. The other guy I was working with that day chimed “It’ll look like deckled edging”. Well… I guess so… Then we went down into the public area, where there’s a little mock up print shop with a cabinet of type, an imposing stone, a C&P Old Style, and a little proof press. I ran little bookmarks on the proof press while the other gent got our other material composed and locked up. We decided on a simple text: “I was in Guthrie Oklahoma November 16, 2007” with the state seal. Something like that. Anyway, I really liked the setup they have there for doing live printing demonstrations. It worked ok for two people to be in there working, but it would be better for one. Visitors can see on three sides, and see everything going on, like when the paper starts dropping out the bottom of the press, because I’m too busy talking to get them into the guide pins correctly. “Just let them go.” They’ve framed it out to look like a little building, with the framing providing a barrier for safety. The second picture gives you the other half. The imposing stone, the other half of the type cabinet, furniture and just the corner of the proof press. The whole area is probably not more than 10′ x 12′. At the front we have a simple little swing gate with long pins that drop through the floor to lock them each in place. We still had a toddler make a break for it inside, though. Maybe we need to put up chicken wire! So, that was it. We printed a lot of little sheets, and saw a lot of very nice folks, not only from Oklahoma, but Texas, Kansas, Wisconsin, Connecticut, China, Poland, Italy, Japan… it was a fun day. Did I remember to take home the couple samples I printed and set aside for myself? Of course not. If you’re interested in seeing more of the museum, including the press room, get yourself over to the Amalgamated Printers Association’s July 2007 Gallery Gab for a look at the museum this last summer. Lots of photos! More platen presses, Linotypes, old Miehles, Hickock pen ruler, etc. etc. etc. Enjoy!

Bookseller Barbers

If you’ve read the blog, hopefully your curiosity has been piqued with the question “How prevalent were bookseller/barbers?” I first learned of the phenomenon reading Fine Books & Collections Magazine. Editor Scott Brown has updated readers on bookseller barber developments via his blog. Well, here is the latest entry: Two 18th Century gentlemen of Edinburgh. One Hugh Ingles, printer and barber, at work from 1788-1811. Also, a William Thomson, bookseller and barber, at work from 1790-1802. Mr. Thomson also went about as wig-maker and hair dresser, later advertising as a bookseller only. I found these entries browsing the Scottish Book Trade Index. It certainly makes me curious about other strange combinations. Bookbinder/ butcher? Papermaker/ chandler? Stationer/ Ship’s Captain? With the development of an American Book Trade Index, who knows what we will find.

Book Trade Indexes

American book collectors, librarians, archivists and bibliographers need an American Book Trade Index. I’ve tried to get a skeleton database together to start answering the questions of what it should include, what kind of information will we want to be able to find, how should it be structured… etc. Being more of a printing press guy than a computer guy, I did not get far. I tired bribing friends. That helped, but again didn’t get far.

One thing that should be included in the American Book Trade Index [ABTI], is images. That is one feature lacking from the efforts I discuss below. I’ve started to collect trade cards, bookseller labels, advertising covers, from the book trades and gather images available online. All 1000+ images are now here, awaiting the ABTI, and spurring research and info sharing. Love it!

I’ve mentioned the British Book Trade Index [BBTI] before, but thought it was time to give them a review. The BBTI has been around since 1983, but online since 2002. Their purpose as stated at their website:

“BBTI is a database which aims to include brief biographical and trade details of all those who worked in the English and Welsh book trades up to 1851. There is a separate Scottish Book Trade Index at the National Library of Scotland, so BBTI includes only those Scottish book trade people who also traded in England or Wales at some point in their lives. BBTI includes not only printers, publishers and booksellers but also other related trades, such as stationers, papermakers, engravers, auctioneers, ink-makers and sellers of medicines, so that the book trade can be studied in the context of allied trades. BBTI is, however, only intended as an index to other sources of information. It is not intended to be a biographical dictionary of book-trade people.”

There is one difference between the BBTI and what I hope the ABTI can be: An encyclopedia of book-trade people. Entries will not only include when and where some one did business, but photos of the building, their trade cards, and a link to their digitized memoir at archive.org.
Apparently, in 2005, many “behind the scenes” updates to the BBTI website were finished, and more entries added. Another important update is the inclusion of Prof. John Feather’s Checklist of the English Provincial Book Trade before 1850: http://www.bbti.bham.ac.uk/Feather.asp. I’m working on a similar list for the US. Does one already exist somewhere? I thought so, but I can’t find one.

The British trail cools in 2005. There is this hopeful statement, however:

“The long-term future of BBTI is guaranteed by the commitment of both the University of Birmingham and the Arts and Humanities Data Service. ” It remains unclear if that means the BBTI will continue to exist as it is, or if it will be updated again once more money is available.

The British Book Trade Index has a lot of information, and seems to have filled in from many standard sources. However, the search capablities are fairly limited. Searches are only successful if you know what you’re searching for. If I wanted a list of all booksellers who issued tokens, this is nearly impossible. My queries were not anwered at the email address provided for questions. It seems abandoned, but what is left online is still useful in other respects.

The National Library of Scotland has compiled a Scottish Book Trade Index. From their website: “The Scottish Book Trade Index represents an index of printers, publishers, booksellers, bookbinders, printmakers, stationers and papermakers based in Scotland, from the beginnings of Scottish printing to ca. 1850. The Scottish Book Trade Index is very much a work in progress, and is periodically updated. Comments and suggestions for additions are always welcome.”

The Scottish entry is nice, but has no searching capability. You must know the name of the business or person you are searching for. Granted, that is often the only information you have, however, if I wanted all the book trades people in Perth, I’d have to go through each page and copy it out from there. Not very efficient.

Our third entry is from American shores: The Nineteenth-Century American Childrens Book Trade Directory, compiled by the good people at American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts. From their website:
“Based upon the unparalleled collection of Children’s Literature held at the American Antiquarian Society, this comprehensive directory contains 2,600 entries documenting the activity of individuals and firms involved in the manufacture and distribution of children’s books in the United States chiefly between 1821 and 1876.”

The ACBT Directory has a much more useful, fast search engine. One of my critiques is that they do not cite their sources. The BBTI and SBTI both have reference lists. However, for our purposes, this Directory will prove to be the most useful tool for an inclusive American Book Trade Index.

So, take a good look over these three amazing tools and think of how an American version should look, what kind of information it should contain, and how people would use it. In the mean time, get over to the ABTI group at Flickr and join in.

A real Indiana Jones day

If you’re like me and work in a museum and/or archaeology, Indiana Jones makes you roll your eyes a bit. But, being human, you are also swept away in the fun and adventure shouting along with Indy “THAT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!” Especially being a kid born when I was. You may even say “Dang, I wish I was an archaeologist/ museum curator.” Then reality sets back in and… well, you have days like this.
Now, I’m fascinated by printing. Letterpress printing. It comes with being a fourth-degree bibliophile. My job at the museum allows me to explore some of my interests. I’ve wanted to put together a program for kids where they could print things themselves. Something simple, like a bookmark. You get the idea. Doing my part to engage kids with history and spread bibliophilia.
Last…, I don’t know. We’ll say it was last Thursday, one of the other curators comes to me with a great little tidbit: The heirs of a defunct newspaper were looking to divest themselves of stuff. Being a knowledgeable hand with the “black art” of printing, he was going down there Monday to see if the museum could use any of it for our collections. Knowing my interest in printing, he welcomed a “wish list” of stuff I could use to get my program off the ground. I was pumped. Friday rolls over and I find out he won’t be going, but was sending another lady down in his stead. Wonderful as she is, she doesn’t know much about printing. I threw a few photos and words together for her to know what I was wanting.
I fret all weekend and resolve: I’m going too, no matter what. Monday dawns, rainy and windy. A big cup of joe poured, we head out. We finally arrive at our destination: A rural town where if you’ve ever wondered what a Cadillac would look like if it was bred with a monster truck… I have a place for you! Also, if you are wanting a pet beagle, there seems to be an unlimited supply roaming the roads and highways in this town and the next one over.
The elderly daughter of the former editor greets us, leading us to the buildings where everything has been kept. The first building had a few galleys and some Linotype slugs. I grabbed a galley and move to carry it outside—- and step through the floor. I was fortunate to be on the ground floor and only went in several inches. I tromped ahead, stomping my way through the rotten floorboards and outside. Now, I’m a big boy, but literally wrecking a wooden floor was unexpected. To my credit, it was rotted out real bad.
The next building wasn’t bad. Concrete floor and a couple skylights made a world of difference. It wasn’t pitch black inside like the first. Several cases of type and a mid-1940s Vandercook. I jotted down the serial number of the Vandy and grabbed the wood type. I checked the other fonts and made some notes as to what lead was there. I was getting nervous. Was this it? Not what I had hoped. “Let me take to the newspaper office,” the old lady said.
The next building had metal sheets screwed to the front covering whatever windows used to face the street. The little old lady said, “Now a cat or two have been in here some, so there is an odor.” I bet you’re all thinking what I thought in that moment. If you’re not thinking what I was thinking, you’re a cat-lady. “Now, Daddy never let us in here. He worried we’d be crushed by something.” Perfect. She unlocked the door. As the door opened the building sighed a distinctly moist, warm feline puff into my cringing face.
It was just noon. Thoughts of lunch vanished in the drizzle. We took turns going in, closing the door, stepping clear, then opening the door for the next person. My partner from the museum had a camera, clinched jaw and set face. I could see the willpower being summoned to the top. It was not just a few cats. Several would have been a joy. It was more like dozens of feral cats have been undisturbed here for the better part of thirty years. Heaping mounds of decomposing cat poo oozed and crumbled everywhere. It was pitch black inside. The flashlights also revealed three linotypes, a couple melting pots. An uncounted number of type cases. Most of them against the walls along the perimeter of the large room. Nearly all sitting at unnatural angles, having fallen through the floor, some bursting their lead onto the floor. A few magnesium plates sat on the composing table. They were furry with corrosion. Worthless. As we moved through, trying our best not to touch anything, I worried about one of us slipping on the paper several inches deep on the floor, moist and soiled. Either on the paper, or whatever lie underneath. Mousy odors mingled up from beneath our steps.
We slunk around to the back of the shop, passing layout tables heaping with more and more you-know-what. The lady said her mother used to hand feed the paper into old the drum press when her father took over the paper in the mid-1950s. He ran the newspaper there until his death in the mid-1980s. The name in the cast iron press was so coated with ink and crud, I couldn’t make anything out except “New York”. Big help.
The drum press was old. Maybe seriously old. The dinosaur was pretty grungy but seemed complete. It was very dark in there and hard to tell. You can just make out a bit of the drum press in the shadows if you look at the big versions of some of these pics. There was also an old-style Chandler and Price, a new-style C&P, a paper cutter, and other stuff. By then I knew, we had to go. I knew the museum wouldn’t be interested in anything. It was too far gone. They should have called when he died and not waited another 25 years. Disappointed, we picked our way out. As I begin to slide back past the linotypes at the front, my unfortunate colleague points “Hey. Isn’t that, that?” I look around to see the pile of papers and poo she’s pointing to, seeing for the first time a cylinder and a handle poking out.
I climbed over, leaping with maybe a little joy. I knew exactly what it was. I must have been smiling ear to ear. I tipped the thing over, scattering the paper and … toppings off to reveal a Miles Nervine proof press.
Exactly what I showed my colleague that morning with the words “My lofty hope is to find one of these.” Dr. Miles invented a patent medicine and ran a program in the late 19th Century aimed at small-town newspapers. In exchange for one year of advertising in the paper, he would send you this neat little proof press. It’s very small, table top sized. It’s from the period I do most of my programs (the 1890s) and simple enough for even the youngest of kids to be able to use. It’s in nearly perfect shape. Just needs the slime under the bed cleaned off.
Here are a few photos that we got. Believe me, the photos do not do this building justice. She tried to keep the cat contributions to a minimum in the photos. However, it does capture the eery feeling I got going in. It didn’t take much imagination to see the lady running the drum press, the husband composing type, someone proofing a job.
 
So, if Mr. Spielberg, Lucas or Ford read this post, here is an idea for Indy 4: to match the horrors of the snakes in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the bugs of Temple of Doom, and the rats of Last Crusade, I offer: Leavings of a feral cat colony.

Update on Bookseller/ Barber

Well, today was a good day at my house. I got home from a *gross* experience (more on that later) to find a damp cardboard box on my stoop. Lo and behold, some very cheap books arrived! Lucky for me, they were all dry. They’re all ex-library, but I couldn’t pass up the prices. Nothing collectable, just solid reference type stuff. Sorry, but it’s still a secret where I got them as I haven’t bought everything I want just yet from the seller. They didn’t have very good descriptions, and of course no photos, but only one turned out to be a real dud. Not bad out of six or seven books.

One I’m looking forward to browsing is Historic California in Bookplates by Clare Ryan Talbot. I don’t have a very big collection of bookplates, but I love learning about them. I hope to have a couple made. Heck, I may even have a whack at doing it myself. Also got an early Madeline Stern book on Mrs. Frank Leslie. Also, Vol. 13 (1799-1800) of Charles Evans’ American Bibliography. This could be an extremely useful tool in the American Book Trade Index cause. I also got an index of Printers found in Evans. And, until archive.org uploads the rest of Evans, I’ll have to dig up copies of vols. 9-12. Also, I don’t think this index is the index from the set. Hmmm.

Ah, the update on Mr. Deming? He’s listed in Charles Evans’ American Bibliography, Vol. 13, (1799-1800) pg. 163.

“Sold wholesale and retail, by L. Deming, no.1 Market Square Corner, of Merchant’s Row, Boston.” Broadside 4to. Item 37772.

This places him another 30 years previous in Boston. It seems this guy sold books for 50+ years!