With today being Martin Luther King day in the United States, I was prompted to see what collectible books by King we had for offer on the site.  (Ok, truth be told, I couldn’t help myself – I had to look as my curiosity got the better of me.) The offerings are pretty outstanding. There are thank-you notes signed by King, a book inscribed to his children’s babysitter, a first day issue MLK stamp and cover that was released on what would have been King’s 50th birthday and first editions of King’s first book, Stride Toward Freedom.

A first edition copy of Strength to Love with a rubber-stamped greeting in King’s handwriting can be purchased for just $250.00(USD) while a first edition copy of Where Do We Go From Here? inscribed to Leonard Bernstein will cost you $15,290.00.

Isn’t it great how book not only allow you to learn about history but also enable you to own a piece of that history? Just another reason to love books!

I love reading. I also love books, and I don’t think the two always go together. Some people are in it just for the story, and would read any old copy equally, others are collectors of visuals or value and don’t even read the books. I love both, and am fascinated and delighted equally by the insides and outsides of books. This bit’s dedicated to the outside, and all the creativity, different materials and thought that goes into them. It’s not all cloth, leather and paper – from goatskin to gold and eelskin to ivory, check out some of these bindings – 30 in all.

Left to right: Mother of Pearl, Rubber, Brass, Fur, Ivory.

In stark contrast to the synopsis of Glenn Beck’s The Christmas Sweater, this synopsis has me itching to read the book.

In the course of their writing and publishing careers, Russell Ash and Brian Lake have collected hundreds of the book trades most bizarre titles. From unintended double entendres (Making It in Leather) and astonishingly specialized subjects (Great Locomotive Boiler Explosions) to weird books on sex (Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition), and religion (Hell: Where Is It?), the authors have left no page unturned in their quest. Along the way, they have also catalogued some noteworthy authors, including Violet Organ, Fernando Poo, Bishop Frediricus Nausea, and O. Hell. A final section looks at publishing curiosities, from unusual book bindings (a “fireproof” edition of Fahrenheit 451 bound in asbestos boards) to unfortunate tributes (Venereal Disease and Its Prevention, “affectionately dedicated” to the authors wife). Now revised and updated, Bizarre Books is a guaranteed good laugh.

Doesn’t that sound great?

Dave was very friendly to me and very tolerant of my asking a million questions. He was working on a first edition of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, and a probably first edition of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. Watching him work, and listening to him talk about what he does for a living, I was inspired by how much he clearly cares about his job, and the books he creates, repairs and restores.

The article was featured in the Avid Reader this month. Have a look, and read the whole article!

An auction record was set at Sotheby’s yesterday when a collection of E.H. Shepard‘s original drawings for A.A. Milne‘s Winnie-the-Pooh books sold for approximately £1.3 million ($2 million USD), well above the estimated sale amount. Shepard’s drawing “He went on tracking, and Piglet … ran after him,” also sold at more than double the estimated sales price at £115,250 – a record sales amount for a drawing by a British artist

The popular image of Christopher Robin dragging Pooh by the leg up the stairs, bumped bidders up to the final sales price of £97,250. Again, the final sale price beat expectations.

These sales amounts are a bit surprising given the recent downturn in the fine art market.

Perhaps comfort can be found in cuddly teddy bears after all.