- An announcement from AbeBooks that they would no longer be supporting booksellers based in certain countries as of 30 November (including Czechia, Hungary, Russia, and South Korea) has sent major ripples through the bookselling community. It prompted the ABA to decline AbeBooks' sponsorship offer for the 2019 Firsts summer book fair. ILAB president Sally Burdon noted that "The ILAB Committee applaud the action taken by the ABA in deciding to decline ABE's sponsorship of Firsts next year. This sacrificial action on their behalf, will of course make their fair more difficult to stage and thus sends a clear message to ABE that booksellers around the world stand together and will not ignore blows to the businesses of others."
- In solidarity with their colleagues in the affected countries, more than one hundred ILAB booksellers from around the world have announced that they will withdraw their stock from AbeBooks. I can't take that same step, obviously, but as a frequent buyer of books, I can support the movement in my own tiny way: I will not be purchasing books through ABE's platform while this continues, but will instead buy directly from the booksellers or through another purchasing platform. As an alternative search site, viaLibri is much better anyway, since it includes many additional listings. As I get more information on this, I will be sure to pass it along.
[Update, at 5:50 p.m. on 4 November: see this new article from the NYTimes.]
- Sarah Werner will deliver APHA's Lieberman Lecture on Thursday, 13 December at the Library of Congress: "Working towards a feminist history of printing."
- Proposed new EU license regulations "would require art, antiques and antiquities that are more than 250 years old (regardless of their value) to have import licences in order to enter an EU country," according to a report in the Art Newspaper. ILAB president Sally Burdon says "as it was originally written, the proposed legislation is not workable for antiquarian booksellers, European librarians, private collectors or the many others involved for business or pleasure with old books or manuscripts." ILAB has proposed that the regulations set a higher age and include a value threshold.
- The copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover used by the judge during the obscenity trial sold for £56,000 at auction.
- Marc Harrison writes for the Fine Books Blog about the fall iteration of Bibliomania in Paris.
- Nick Aretakis will be returning to manage the Americana department at the William Reese Company.
- Alexander Alter covers the new Penguin Minis flipbacks for the NYTimes. I ordered these and found them even better than the ones Hodder & Stoughton issued a few years ago: the typeface is much improved, for one thing. I hope Dutton/Penguin will issue a bunch more of them.
- From R. B. Bartgis at Sammelband, "Teaching Bibliographic Format."
- The London Library reported this week on recent research into books on the library's shelves which have been identified as those used by Bram Stoker while he was researching and writing Dracula.
- Rebecca Romney offers some excellent bookish podcast recommendations in her "Book Curious" newsletter this week. I'll add one that dropped after her email arrived: Rebecca Baumann is on this week's "Behind the Bookshelves" podcast talking about her collection.
- Over at Notabilia, "Rare Book Working Group Examines 'Her Book'."
Reviews
- Nancy Campbell's The Library of Ice; review by Gavin Francis in the Guardian.
- David Grann's The White Darkness; review by Colin Dickey in the NYTimes.
Upcoming Auctions
- Printed Books, Maps & Documents at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 7 November.
- Autographs at Swann Galleries on 8 November.
- Food & Drink at PBA Galleries on 8 November.
- Rare & Used Books at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society on 9 November.
