The National Post profiles the top three rare book collectors from a contest to find Canada’s best book collectors under the age of 30.
Winner - Charlotte Ashley
2nd place - Vanessa Brown
3rd place - Naseem Hrab
Archive for the ‘collecting’ Category
Canada’s top under 30 book collectors
Friday, July 3rd, 2009Michael Jackson is Jack London in Call of the Weird
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
Call of the Wild first edition
The journalist fails to point out the irony of alias - there was also much controversy and debate about London’s death. Was it suicide? Was it an overdose of morphine?
A first edition of this classic book isn’t cheap - I wonder if Michael owned one. I suspect he did.
The Joys of Book Collecting According to a Prize Winning Collector
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
Works: The Romances of Alexandre Dumas. Complete 48-volume set.
The National Post’s blog “The Afterword” features an interview with Canada’s first national book-collecting contest winner, Charlotte Ashley. The contest, sponsored by The Bibliographical Society of Canada (BSC), the Antiquarian Booksellers of Association of Canada (ABAC) and the Alcuin Society, “was created … to encourage young Canadians to collect books and study the discipline of researching and writing bibliographies.”
Ashley won the contest for her collection The Works (and Quirks) of Alexandre Dumas pere and was presented with $2,500.
Cop Without A Badge - babes, brawls, botox & books?
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
Several weeks ago I talked about an out-of-print book that was rumored to contain some rather, let’s say unflattering, information about one of the women of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey”.
Since that post, Cop Without a Badge: The Extraordinary Undercover Life of Kevin Maher by Charles Kipps has not only become a revealer of buried secrets but also somewhat of a collector’s item. Once the cover of what was simply known as “the book” was revealed, demand for the book increased as did prices. At $23 nobody wanted the book but now that prices exceed $100…
So what is all this hubbub about? “The book” reportedly refers to socialite, “housewife” Danielle Staub as a “coke-sniffing stripper with an extortion conviction.” (Insert gasps of shock here.) It even includes mug shots of Staub pre-Botox. (GASP! Oh the horror!)
Although the focus of the book now is Danielle Staub, the book is in fact, a tell-all tale of her ex-husband and his life as an undercover cop.
After much backbiting and nasty comments from the other women in the season finale of the show (A co-incidence? I think not.) Staub produced the book during a dinner party at an Italian restaurant. Apparently, that action was a total mood killer. To make a long story short, the result was a total melee and a table was flipped over.
Not sure if the show or the book has more drama, but people are now clamoring for the printed action of Cop Without a Badge.
You just never know do you?
First Edition On The Origin of Species Sells for £15,625
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
First Edition copy of On the Origin of Species
A first edition copy of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species sold at auction in Edinburgh, Scotland yesterday for £15,625 (approx. US$25,832) , over the estimated value of £10,000 to £15,000.
The book was found in a family home near Inverness and was purchased by a collector from southern England.
Only 1,250 copies of the book were printed in its first run in 1859 and another first edition sold in April of this year for £35,000 (US$58,000).
2009 marks the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth.
368-Year-Old Book to Star at Calgary Book Fair
Thursday, June 11th, 2009Ok, I know and freely admit that it is ignorant but here in Canada when we think of Calgary, Alberta we tend to think of horses, rodeos, cowboys and stetsons. Sorry but that’s just the image the Stampede and oil industry have perpetuated. But the city really has come up literary trumps with this year’s Calgary Book Drive and Sale, supported by the Calgary Herald.
A copy of The Historie of the Reigned of King Henry the Seventh found on AbeBooks
Amongst hundreds of other books from a fire hall donation bin, a treasure was found - The Historie of the Reigne of King Henry the Seventh, published in 1641 by the Rt. Hon. Francis, Lord Verulam (Sir Francis Bacon). Authenticity of the book has been confirmed by Calagarian antiquarian expert Cameron Trevealen of Aquila Books.
The book is expected to make a nice contribution to funds raised by the book sale to support Calgary’s Servants Anonymous Society, which helps young women escape sexual exploitation, and literacy programs that receive funding from the Canwest Raise-a-Reader initiative.
Interested in checking out the book sale? The sale runs over two weekends, June 12 to 14 and June 19 to 21 — at the Crossroads Market, just off Blackfoot Trail and Ogden Road S. E. in Calgary.
Ulysses first edition sets record price
Friday, June 5th, 2009
To buy a rare James Joyce, or to buy a very nice house. It’s the kind of delemia some people face. Yesterday at the Olympia Antiquarian Book Fair in London someone purchased a copy of the most collectible book from the 20th century, Ulysses by James Joyce. Or more exactly a signed, first edition which was limited to 100 copies and printed on Dutch handmade paper.
As reported by The Guardian the novel sold for £275,000 (about $440,000), the highest price on record for a 20th century first edition.
This is a fine example of how condition and scarcity are everything in book collecting. If you look on AbeBooks there are other Ulysses first editions for sale for a fraction of the price, somewhere around $50,000 would net you a nice copy. But not that won’t get you this edition with its Dutch handmade paper and shorter print run.
The extra 400 affords the shorter print run on the higher quality paper and a virtually untouched copy - it was only opened only once (just to the racy bit at the end), and was kept out of the light in its original box. Pom Harrington described the colour as:
“The colour is amazing – this lovely Aegean Sea, Greek flag blue which would normally have darkened into a more dirty blue but because it has been in a box it is a complete thing of beauty,”
Oxfam Auctions Off Donated Books
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
A first edition copy of Thunderball
I always wonder if people donate these books with the intention of being generous or if the donation is an accident - a horrible accident. I know I’d be crying myself to sleep.
On June 16 a 1961 First Edition of Ian Fleming’s Bond novel, Thunderball goes up for auction at Bonhams in Oxford along with The History of Java (in two volumes) by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles; and Gabriel de Saint-Aubin by Emile Dacier.
Another 117 rare and collectible books are also being auctioned off and the funds raised are expected to be around £40,000.
According to one Oxfam representative: “That is enough to buy 50,000 emergency shelters or to purchase 64,000 poverty-busting goats, or even provide safe water for 2.1 million people.”
The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet a signed bestseller
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Reif Larsen’s debut tale about the twelve-year-old genius cartographer who must traverse America to accept a prestigious award from the Smithsonian is earning him great praise from critics on both sides of the Atlantic for not only the clever storyline but the book design as well.
The books margins are riddled with the doodles, diagrams, and maps drawn by young Spivet to help discribe his journy to DC.
This looks like a beautifuly put together book, and I think it would be a lot of fun to read, however my major complaint is that, once again, that the British cover looks about a hundred times nicer than its North America counterpart…
… perhaps I will have to order a copy from one of our UK booksellers
10 Bestselling signed books on AbeBooks
1. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
2. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
4. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
5. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
6. The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy
7. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
8. The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt
9. Walking the Perfect Square by Reed Farrel Coleman
10. Drood by Dan Simmons
A surreal week with Max Ernst
Friday, May 29th, 2009
We have a new feature in our Rare Book Room this morning and it should appeal to fans of the surreal and the strange. It’s all about Une Semaine de Bonté (A Week of Kindness) by German artist Max Ernst.
Created in just three weeks in 1934, Une Semaine de Bonté is a very bizarre collection of 182 collages where humanity is mixed with mythology and the animal kingdom. There are ladies with serpent wings and gentlemen with lion heads. Many of the dramatic scenes display death, distress, bondage, nudity and violence. Discover more about Une Semaine de Bonté.
Life without books & bookshops…
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009….would be intolerable, according to the BBC’s Andrew Marr. Check out the comment section.
Books, Glorious Books - Retro Summer Reading, and Affordable, Collectible Treasures
Friday, May 15th, 2009
Ahh, books. If it weren’t for fear of papercuts, I could just roll around in a pile of books sometimes.
We have two especially gorgeous and bookish features up right now.
The first is our Retro Summer Reading feature. We figured that every year, all the reading lists are the same: blah blah blah fluffy romance novel, blah blah blah crime thriller, blah blah blah feel good book for the soul, blah blah blah vampire with a heart of gold. *yawn*
I don’t know who decided we should devote an entire season to reading forgettable crap, but frankly, I’m against it. The world is already full of more great books than I can keep up with, and sometimes, the idea of dying before I’ve read everything I want to makes my heart palpitate. So why on Earth would I spend my whole summer reading predictable, formulaic books about women with shopping addictions? Clearly summer is not the time for Dostoevsky, but there are plenty of feel-good, engaging, happy reads that aren’t crap.
And that’s what we’ve focused on - books from the past that we’ve always meant to read, or re-read. Vintage, retro, damn good reads.
The second bookish feature we’re currently rolling around in is our 50 Collectible Books Under $50.00 feature. Many people find the idea of collectible books intimidating, and think it’s only for wealthy people or book experts. Not so! In reality, a collectible title can be any rare book, any limited edition, any unusual book, or any book likely to appreciate in value.
Even if you don’t buy any, Look at the Beautiful Books!
In other news… *sniff sniff* I can smell the weekend.
The Quantum Wellness Cleanse - Ditching “The Big 5″
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
Bestselling author, Kathy Freston visited ABC’s Good Morning America today to discuss her new book, The Quantum Wellness Cleanse.
Freston, who advocates replacing foods with healthier choices rather than depriving yourself, claims that in just 21 days without “the big 5″ - caffeine, gluten, sugar, alcohol and animal products - you’ll experience more energy, lessened cravings and a change in your tastes. Freston herself engages in these three-week cleanses a few times each year. She also says if you can’t handle removing all five things at once, try just abstaining from one or two.
TV maven, Oprah Winfrey praises the cleanse and even blogged about her own 21-day experience. (Ironically, Oprah has just posted a coupon for a grilled chicken two-piece meal from KFC on her website…)
Although it is said to help with dropping a few pounds, Freston’s cleanse is more than a weight-loss plan; she suggests trying it as a way to jump-start an inner makeover. The program actually has its roots in Freston’s third book, Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness which details how incremental changes can reap large rewards.
Ready to give it a go? You can pick up your own copy of the Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit starting for just $ 9.79.