AbeBooks' Reading Copy

Happy birthday to Jules Verne, born 185 years ago today, on February 8th, 1828. Verne was a French science fiction author, most famous for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. His imagination ran just as deep, and throughout his career he contributed immeasurably to the genre of science fiction. He is often called the father [...]

Two hundred years ago today, on January 28th, 1813, Pride and Prejudice was published. The author, Jane Austen, was 38 when it was published, and 41 when she died, but had written the bulk of it in her early twenties. It was her second published work (first was Sense and Sensibility). Two centuries later, Pride [...]

Second Story Books in Rockville, Maryland is offering an excellent gift to those who wish it – Saturday, January 26th is Free Appraisal Day. From 11:00 am until 4:00 pm, senior member of the American Society of Appraisers Allan Stypeck (who also bought Second Story Books in 1973) will offer free appraisals. Eligible items include [...]

These are fantastic and I would like to own one. The images come from Antikamnia Skeleton Calendars, put out by the Antikamnia Chemical Company, St. Louis, MO. Antikamnia’s analgesic compound, which was never patented, was marketed as a ‘proudly ethical drug’ and used to treat headaches, fever, stomach aches, nervousness, insomnia and ‘the blues’. It [...]

Our most  expensive sales during November 2012 featured a book of paintings by Belgian artist  and botanist Pierre-Joseph Redouté, who was so famous for his watercolors of  roses, lilies and other flowers that he was dubbed the “The Raphael of  Flowers.”  A copy of his most famous publication Les Roses sold  for $28,000. The British  [...]

Christi, a member of our North American team recently travelled to our German office and visited this wonderful bookshop in Nuess, near Dusseldorf. The bookshop is called Neusser Antiquariat. They’ve been in business for over 30 years, and spcialize in rare and collectible volumes, especially illustrated and art books. As well as capturing some lovely [...]

A treat for the fine booklover, or anyone who enjoys the excellent artistry of bookbinding: The Kelliegram Binding. Kelliegram bindings often involved intricate leather work, such as leather inlays or onlays to create an image, a scene, or a mosaic effect. It was common for the Kelliegram binders to choose an engraving from the body [...]

Amazing story from Retronaut about a bible that stopped shrapnel from killing its German infantryman owner, Kurt Geiler, in Northeast France in 1917. “In the never-ending trench warfare in North-East France, the German infantryman was sleeping as usual with his Bible underneath his head. Without warning, a direct hit destroyed his dug-out almost completely, wounding [...]

In December 1812, two scholarly linguists published a collection of dark and sometimes violent folktales that would become a cornerstone of modern popular culture known as the Brothers Grimm. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm popularized the fairy tale with Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and many other famous stories. While the stories [...]

Great news for the University of Virginia where an $896,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has been awarded to the college’s Rare Book School. The Rare Book School is a non-profit organization that sponsors classes for academics, historians, book collectors and archivists interested in the history of books, manuscripts and the written word. [...]