Boston Book Company Newsletter

The 44th California International Antiquarian Book Fair

2010-12-22T10:00:00.004-05:00

We'll be attending The 44th California International Antiquarian Book Fair on
Februray 11-13, 2011 at the The Concourse Exhibit Center, 635 8th Street at Brannan Street, San Francisco
LAbookfair.com

Hope to see you there!

The 34th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair

2010-09-22T09:53:00.000-04:00

We'll be in attendance at the 34th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair held on November 12 - 14, 2010 at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston.
http://www.bostonbookfair.com/

Hope to see you there!

53rd London International Antiquarian Book Fair

2010-05-19T16:29:00.000-04:00

We are exhibiting at the 53rd London International Antiquarian Book Fair, June 3 - 5, at the Olympia Exhibition Centre. Please stop by and visit us at Stand no. 48 if you are attending.

Boston Antiquarian Book Fair April 30 - May 1

2010-04-30T09:49:00.000-04:00

We are exhibiting at the MARIAB Boston Antiquarian Book Fair April 30 - May 1 at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center, 100 Ashford Street in Boston - please stop by and visit if you are attending!

This blog has moved

2010-04-28T15:35:00.001-04:00

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Shop closed Saturday April 24

2010-04-22T15:38:00.002-04:00

Please note: Boston Book Company, our Jamaica Plain shop, will be closed Saturday April 24th as staff will be engaged at a conference. Normal hours resume Monday April 26th. Boston Book Annex shop hours are not affected.

New York Antiquarian Book Fair April 9-11

2010-04-02T10:29:00.000-04:00

We will be at the Park Avenue Armory next weekend for the 50th New York Antiquarian Book Fair. Stop by and visit us in Booth A3 if you are attending!

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

April 9 - 11, 2010
Park Avenue Armory, New York
http://www.sanfordsmith.com/show.php?show=bookfair

Tokyo International Antiquarian Book Fair

2010-03-10T12:25:00.001-05:00

We are exhibiting at the Tokyo International Antiquarian Book Fair 2010, March 11 - 13, at Izumi Garden Gallery, Tokyo. Details at http://www.abaj.gr.jp/index_e.htm

Please stop by and visit if you are attending!

San Francisco and California (Los Angeles) Book Fairs

2010-02-05T11:54:00.001-05:00

We will be exhibiting at:

San Francisco Antiquarian Book, Print and Paper Fair
February 6 - 7, 2010, Booth 401
San Francisco Concourse, 7th & Brannan Streets at Showplace Square
http://www.sfbookandpaperfair.com/

and

43rd California International Antiquarian Book Fair
February 12 - 14, 2010, Booth 220
Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles
http://www.labookfair.com/home.php

Please stop by and visit us if you are attending!

New hours at Boston Book Annex - updated

2010-02-02T12:19:00.001-05:00

Beginning in February we have updated the hours our sister store the Boston Book Annex is open. New hours of operation are : 11 AM - 7 PM Monday - Thursday; 11 AM - 9 PM Friday and Saturday; Closed Sunday. This post updated 2/3/09.

The 51st New York Antiquarian Book Fair

2010-02-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

We hope to see you on April 8 - 10, 2011 at The Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York City.

New Year's hours

2009-12-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

New decade ahead! We will be closing early at both locations on December 31st (call ahead for time), and will be closed New Year's Day, January 1st, 2010. Regular hours resume January 2nd. Best wishes for a Happy New Year from all of us.

Holiday hours at both locations

2009-12-19T15:19:00.001-05:00

In Jamaica Plain at Boston Book Company we will be closing at 2pm on December 24th, and will be closed the 25th, 26th and 27th, re-opening with normal hours on Monday the 28th.

UPDATED: On Beacon Street at the Boston Book Annex we will be closing around 4 pm December 24th (call ahead to verify), and will be closed on the 25th and 26th, re-opening on Sunday December 27 with regular hours.

Happy holidays!

December Sale at the Book Annex on Beacon Street

2009-12-04T15:15:00.001-05:00

Just a heads up for our customers at our sister store, the Boston Book Annex, 906 Beacon Street in Boston: December 3rd - 24th, all Art and Poetry books will be 25% off. This offer applies to books purchased at the Annex only. We have a great selection at both locations; if you need to shop for the holidays, we'll be glad to help find the perfect gifts. See you soon!

Closing for Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T15:43:00.000-05:00

Both our Beacon Street shop, the Boston Book Annex, and our Jamaica Plain shop, Boston Book Company, will be closed on Thursday November 26 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We are open regular hours the rest of the week. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving - see you soon.

Catalogue 40A, Japan and East Asia, now online

2009-11-21T09:47:00.001-05:00

Announcing our newest Japan and East Asia Catalogue, no. 40A:

Here is a diverse collection of recently acquired material, running the gamut from useful 20th century reference works on the arts and languages of east Asia to woodblock-illustrated Japanese ehon and design books, prewar avant-garde and modernist fine art, posters and advertising art. From botanicals and birds to social satire and illustrated poetry with a bit of photography included, the visual feast goes on. Click here for the catalogue. Enjoy!

33rd Annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair

2009-11-11T12:18:00.001-05:00

We will be exhibiting at the 33rd Annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, November 13-15, 2009, at the Hynes Convention Center at 900 Boylston Street in Boston. We will be in booth number 407 - please stop by and visit if you are attending. Selections include books and ephemera in literature, science, economics, women's studies, children's collectibles and history; Japanese woodblock print books; Japanese design books, posters and advertising publications; and more. Both shops will be open during the fair, regular hours.

Website back online

2009-10-31T13:55:00.007-04:00

We have just restored the Boston Book Company website after some down time due to a server problem. All email to rarebook.com addresses and orders placed through our other listings (ABE, antiqbook, ILAB, ABAA) were received as usual during this time. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

New batch of October New Additions online

2009-10-15T15:54:00.012-04:00

We've just updated our New Additions page, and the new offerings include a fifty volume Wilkie Collins set, bound in half indigo morocco with marbled paper covered boards; Meehan's four volume THE NATIVE FLOWERS AND FERNS OF THE UNITED STATES, with 192 chromolithographs by Prang; Burritt's celestial ATLAS DESIGNED TO ILLUSTRATE THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE HEAVENS; lovely bindings of Keats, Shelley and Wordsworth, and more. Stop by and browse at www.rarebook.com.

New East Asian Art Reference list online

2009-10-07T14:48:00.003-04:00

We've been mining our shelves, organizing our backlist by subject area. This group of titles, mostly references to the art world of East Asia, includes books long out-of-print and sought-for. Take a look, please, and let us know if there is anything here that pleases you and if there are other works you are seeking in the field. Click here for the list.

New batch of September New Additions online

2009-09-18T15:17:00.003-04:00

We have just updated our September New Additions page. Featured items include first editions of Dickens' OUR MUTUAL FRIEND and THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, in parts; a first edition of Cooper's THE DEERSLAYER; a first edition of White's CHARLOTTE'S WEB and more. Stop by and browse at www.rarebook.com.

Labor Day weekend hours

2009-09-05T15:37:00.004-04:00

Our Jamaica Plain shop will be closed this Sunday (as usual) and Monday, September 7, but our Beacon Street location, Boston Book Annex, will be open Sunday and Monday.

New Additions for September online

2009-08-28T10:25:00.001-04:00

September New Additions include Schiaparelli's illustrated 1878 paper on Martian topography, an inscribed 1839 Memoir of Nathaniel Bowditch, some Yeats selections and more. Visit our webpage and click on New Additions to browse.

New Additions for August, new batch online

2009-08-15T12:01:00.004-04:00

We have updated our New Additions page for August at www.rarebook.com - we are featuring THE STORY OF THE HUTCHINSONS, 1896, 2 volumes - an abolitionist singing family, they also toured in support of temperance and suffrage. The set bears an inscription from the author John Wallace Hutchinson. Also this round, we have Eiffel's THE RESISTANCE OF THE AIR AND AVIATION: EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED AT THE CHAMP-DE-MARS LABORATORY, 1913, the second revised and expanded edition, with many charts and diagrams. And among other items, we have a set of Stephen Foster facsimile sheet music, and Reed's SPECIMENS OF PARCHMENT which includes a sample from a 16th century manuscript. Stop by our New Additions page to browse these and more.

East Asian Photography catalogue online

2009-08-10T16:54:00.003-04:00

http://www.rarebook.com/eastasianphotography.html
click for catalogue

We are back with a selection of a few items from the field of Japanese photography. As the Japanese were interested quite early on in the archival and then the artistic possibilities of photography, the collector may find worthy items dating from the 1860's to the present day. There are a few rarities within, but mostly a range of fun and interesting books expressive in yet another form of the Japanese aesthetic.

From the 19th century, among other items, there is a lovely album in beautiful condition and with perfect hand-coloring by the important photographer Kusakabe Kimbei. The prewar avant-garde is represented with an unusual photo book by the important artist Onchi Koshiro. The postwar era witnessed an enormous development of photography in Japan and we are presenting here a few representative examples of some interesting work - not the high spots which have exploded in value the last few years, rather works by lesser-known but intriguing artists or more modest works by the masters.

Photography is enormously enjoyable and we hope to be able to bring you more items on a regular basis.

Charles Vilnis

New Additions for August

2009-07-30T15:56:00.002-04:00

The first batch of our new items for August are online at www.rarebook.com - Virginia Woolf's biography of Roger Fry, a lovely angling memoir, Wilder's Our Town and more. Stop by and browse our New Additions page!

New - sign up for email announcements

2009-07-22T11:56:00.003-04:00

Now you can sign up for our email announcements - online catalogues, new additions and sales - simply by clicking on the Request Catalogues link and filling out the form. Please let us know what your interests are so that we can contact you about your specific wants. You can find the Request Catalogues link in the top menu on our home page at www.rarebook.com.

More New Additions for July

2009-07-18T14:10:00.005-04:00

We've just added items to our New Additions page for July - please visit at www.rarebook.com to browse. There are two different 19th century Massachusetts atlases, an oversized archaeology portfolio, a complete set of Lossing's A History of the Civil War 1861-65 with Mathew Brady photo reproductions, a unique collection of Robert Frost's personal Dartmouth College memorabilia, architecture and art monographs and more. The New Additions page is updated semimonthly, so stay tuned for the next batch August 1st!

July New Additions

2009-07-09T13:55:00.003-04:00

Don't forget to check out the July New Additions page at www.rarebook.com - some new local history and Americana, as well as a striking 19th century Richard Morris Hunt architectural photograph.

20th Century East Asian Books

2009-06-18T16:24:00.005-04:00

click here for catalogue

The creation of useful organizing elements in the field of Japanese illustration is often quite arbitrary. May we plead guilty to that fault in creating this list of Japanese illustrated books of the 20th century. Lumping together books created in various media, books deriving from sources as disparate as Ukiyo-e and the European avant-garde and many schools and traditions in between may confuse as much as it orders, but there it is - the 20th was a messy century. What unites the books is their essential Japanese aesthetic. They play well together, at least as we see them.

Charles Vilnis

A Textiles and Dyeing List

2009-06-12T13:07:00.002-04:00

We have compiled a selection of textile and dyeing sample cards and books, from the nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Many of these include dyed samples of cloth plain and patterned, thread or yarn, or even leather. Some of the materials provide the dyestuff "recipe" for each color. If you have an interest in the history of dyeing or textiles, please take a look: click here for the illustrated list.

New Additions for June

2009-06-06T12:42:00.004-04:00

We have updated our New Additions page for the first part of June. To visit, go to our website and click on New Additions in the upper left corner. Enjoy browsing, or use our search feature to locate more titles.

Classic Ehon, Illustrated Books and Maps

2009-05-26T15:39:00.004-04:00

Click for catalogue: http://www.rarebook.com/ehon1.html

Greetings,

Spring brings rain, flowers and, at the Boston Book Company, catalogues.

Following up on our design book list which we published a few weeks ago, we have created a catalogue of traditional ehon, and included maps, botanicals [birds and flowers], fairy tales and original paintings currently in our inventory. There are some true rarities and icons of the illustrated book genre, works we are all familiar with from their appearance in the wonderful books done by Jack Hillier, Roger Keyes and others - kyokabon such as the Utamaro insect book in an early, lovely edition, painting manuals such as the Taigado Gahô and pure picture books like the Sekien Gafu, the Sônan Gafu and the Kiyonaga Ehon Muchi Bukuro. There are Kabuki classics like the Nendaiki, fan and scroll paintings by Shijô school masters and a wonderful set of small sliding doors painted by Keibun. Besides the Edo era material, there is a large triptych painting of Sapporo in a Nihonga style, as well as transitional works by Seihô and others which round out the traditional aesthetic in its 20th century manifestation.

There is really too much to discuss in this brief introduction. Please enjoy the accompanying list, which is being issued as a web catalogue, as well as a printed text. We will be happy to provide more information or images, should you be interested in any of the items within.

We are off to London for the ILAB Book Fair at Olympia next week, so do get back to us as soon as you are able.

Best wishes,

Charles Vilnis

Olympia 2009 in London

2009-05-26T11:59:00.002-04:00

We will be exhibiting at the 52nd Antiquarian Book Fair, Olympia 2009, in London, from June 4 - 6. Please stop by and see us if you are in the area.

New Additions update

2009-05-16T10:35:00.001-04:00

We have updated our New Additions page at www.rarebook.com. We hope you enjoy browsing these new selections. If you are looking for an item that was previously on the page and does not appear, check our other categories, use the Advanced or Quick Search features, or feel free to contact us.

New East Asian Design list online

2009-05-08T13:10:00.006-04:00

We are pleased to announce our new online list of East Asian Design books.

A message from Charles Vilnis:

Hello,

Besides my interest in classic ehon picture books and Japanese botanicals, I have been pursuing Japanese design books of the 20th century for many years now, focusing on a few main areas.

There are the kimono-oriented hinagata-bon, largely done in Kyoto from 1890-1935, printed in color and published by Unkindô, Unsôdô, Happôdô, and a few other high-quality printing houses. They restored the heritage of hinagata-bon kimono design works from the 17th and 18th century, which had been created then by such important Kansai ukiyo-e artists as Moronobu and Sukenobu.

In the 20th century, Kamisaka Sekka, Furuya Kôrin, Kaigai Tennen, Tsuda Seifû, Nishida Ungai and many others, besides contributing to the kimono design works, also produced "pure design" albums [zuancho] with collections of wonderfully creative designs for design's sake, largely printed in color woodblock by Unkindô, Unsôdô, etc..

Finally, there are the design books which stray from the dominant medium of color woodblock to employ lithography, stencil, silkscreen, linoleum printing and every imaginable hybrid technique possible, printed largely in Tokyo on every conceivable paper surface, from washi handmade paper to newsprint. I have found wonderful treasures of design, albums by Sugiura Hisui, Yamana Ayao, Fujii Tatsukichi and many others, as well as guides to industrial design and advertising art from the Taisho and early Showa periods of the 'teens, 20's and 30's. All in all, the works present a wonderful vade mecum to a world that is only now being recollected some 65 years after its utter destruction.

We have put together a list of items in stock that you might like from those three areas. Enjoy.

May Day

2009-05-01T12:42:00.001-04:00

We are pleased to offer, in honor of May Day, a list of thirty-two May Sarton titles: click here for list and images. Many of these are inscribed by Ms. Sarton, and we even have multiples of a few titles. Celebrate May with May!

New Additions page

2009-04-30T15:33:00.000-04:00

Check out our new feature at www.rarebook.com, New Additions, located at the top of the navigation menu on the left. We will update the page throughout each month. If you have seen something on New Additions that no longer appears, consult our other category pages or use the Advanced or Quick Search features. You can always contact us as well. Happy browsing!

Graduation Gifts: Four Harvard Histories

2009-04-25T14:38:00.000-04:00

We are offering four Harvard histories, each bound in half crimson morocco with matching red cloth boards:

1. MORISON, Samuel Eliot. THREE CENTURIES OF HARVARD 1636-1936. $175.00.
2. MORISON, Samuel Eliot, ed. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY SINCE THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT ELIOT 1869-1929. $200.00.
3. [HARVARD UNIVERSITY] THE TERCENTENARY OF HARVARD COLLEGE: A CHRONICLE OF THE TERCENTENARY YEAR 1935-1936. $175.00.
4. MORISON, Samuel Eliot. HARVARD IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, 2 VOLUMES. $200.00.

Details here. In addition, we have a Tufts album from the class of 1888, lovely sets of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Isaac Newton's Mathematical Papers, Emerson's Essays, Chesterfield's Letters, and some handsome individual volumes of Thoreau, Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth. Let us know what you are looking for for your graduate - contact us.

Korin Moyo

2009-04-15T13:23:00.004-04:00

We are pleased to offer:

[DESIGN BOOK] FURUYA Korin, artist. KORIN MOYO. No colophon: [Kyoto: Yamada Unsodo, c. 1907] 25 x 35.5 cm, oblong folding album printed in color woodcut, in cloth over board covers with paper label. Covers titled in the usual hentai-gana. Preface by Furuya. The album consists of 21 oblong spreads lavishly printed in colors and metallic inks. This would seem to be a variant issue of the 2 volume KORIN MOYO, published by Unsodo in 1907, where the 25 double page spreads in 2 volumes were folded in half and issued as small orihon albums. Fairly well printed and overprinted in metallic inks and bold colors. A good example of the Neo-Rimpa style, here available in a full page, unfolded version. A very unusual format for this important work. [Ryerson p.363] $1,400.00 #85065 Contact us to order or enquire.

New York Antiquarian Book Fair, April 3-5

2009-03-27T11:28:00.000-04:00

We will be exhibiting at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, April 3 - 5, 2009, at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street, New York, NY. Details at http://www.sanfordsmith.com/bookfair.html. We will be bringing a broad selection of rare Western books, Japanese woodblock print books and several Japanese kakemono (hanging scrolls). Please stop by and visit with us if you are attending.

Association for Asian Studies, Chicago March 27-29

2009-03-20T13:10:00.000-04:00

We will be exhibiting a selection of Japanese books at the Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, March 27 - 29, 2009, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Chicago -
http://www.aasianst.org/annual-meeting/index.htm. We hope you will visit with us if you are attending.

New Lincoln political memorabilia

2009-02-24T13:04:00.000-05:00

Four items of Lincoln ephemera

We are pleased to offer two sets or collages of Lincoln political ephemera, in recognition of the bicentennial of his birth. Both sets are described in detail on our website in the Americana section.

The first is a matted collection of four items: original printed Democratic and Republican party tickets, an original Lincoln carte-de-visite photograph, and a Union Victory ribbon. The collection: SOLD.

The second is a matted collection of six original items: an Ohio Union Presidential ticket, a Union Presidential ticket with woodcut illustrations, a California Union Presidential ticket, an 1864 Lincoln Presidential campaign token, and two anti-Copperhead campaign propaganda cards. The collection: SOLD.
Contact us for more details.

Six items of Lincoln ephemera

Book Fairs in California - and New Website!

2009-02-03T15:44:00.000-05:00

Westward! We will be exhibiting at the Codex International Book Fair in Berkeley, Feb. 9 - 11, and the 42nd California International Antiquarian Book Fair in San Francisco, Feb. 13 - 15, 2009. We hope to see you there.

Also, check out our newly redesigned website and let us know what you think.

Reading with the President

2009-01-23T14:56:00.000-05:00

President Obama's reading habits have recently been examined by the New York Times (see here and here). We have copies of some of the 44th President's favorite books, and books by some of his favorite authors:

John Steinbeck's IN DUBIOUS BATTLE, $30.00 (Modern Library edition with dust jacket)
Toni Morrison's SONG OF SOLOMON, $95.00 (First British edition)
W. E. B. Du Bois' THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK, $2,500.00 (First edition, first printing)
R. W. Emerson's LETTERS AND SOCIAL AIMS, $125.00 (First edition)
and for children, the D'Aulaires' illustrated life of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, $975.00 (First edition)

Please contact us for details - and welcome our new President by reading along!

Catalogue 39A Japan and Asia now online

2009-01-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

We are pleased to announce our new Catalogue 39A Japan and Asia, featuring 104 items. Please feel free to visit and enquire. Additional images are available upon request.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

We will be closing at 2:00 pm in Jamaica Plain on Wednesday, December 31st, and will be closed Thursday, January 1st. Regular hours resume on January 2nd.

Christmas Week Hours

2008-12-20T14:31:00.000-05:00

We will be closing at 2:00 pm in Jamaica Plain on Wednesday, December 24th, and will be closed on Christmas, Thursday December 25th. Regular hours resume on the 26th. We hope you will stop by and visit us for your holiday book-shopping ... merry, happy, etc., etc., from all of us at Boston Book Company.

Children's Christmas Books

2008-12-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

The Doll's Christmas by Tasha Tudor

We have some illustrated children's books that are especially appropriate for the Christmas season. Here is a selection:

TUDOR, Tasha. THE DOLLS' CHRISTMAS. Illustrated by the author. New York: Oxford University Press, 1950. $200.00 #84141

NASH, Ogden. THE UNTOLD ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS. Boston, Toronto: Little, Brown, (1964). First edition. $65.00 #72641

BRINE, Mary D. CHRISTMAS RHYMES AND NEW YEAR'S CHIMES. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1889. $425.00 #84604

DULAC, Edmund, introduction. CHRISTMAS PICTURES BY CHILDREN. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1922. First edition. $375.00 #80453

D'AULAIRE, Ingri & Edgar Parin. CHILDREN OF THE NORTH LIGHTS. New York: The Viking Press, September 1935. First edition. $300.00 #82506

ROOSEVELT, Eleanor. CHRISTMAS. Illustrated by Fritz KREDEL. $60.00 #84184

Please contact us for ordering details. Happy Holidays!

Christmas Rhymes and New Year's Chimes

Christmas Pictures for Children

Snow - closing early today

2008-12-19T13:01:00.000-05:00

Due to the impending snowstorm, we will probably be closing early, sometime this afternoon. Please call ahead if you are planning a visit.

A selection of Prang Victorian Christmas and Holiday Cards

2008-12-09T15:51:00.000-05:00

We are pleased to offer:

[PRANG, Louis, et al.] A SELECTION OF AMERICAN PRANG VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS CARDS AND COLLECTOR'S SCRAPBOOK. 28 original Prang (and other) Christmas and holiday cards from the Victorian era, together with scrapbook pages, collector's manuscript notes and articles from various periodicals and newspapers about holiday cards. The cards are all in very good condition, a few with slight creasing or wear to corners, or label adhesion to reverse. There are 20 small Christmas cards, 4.5 x 5 inches or smaller; three large Christmas cards, 5.5 x 6 inches or larger; one large fringed Christmas card, 4.25 x 5.5 inches; one large fringed Easter card, 4 x 5.25 inches
(this card has a faint horizontal crease); two small New Year's cards, 2.25 x 3.5 inches or larger; and one large 3-D folding Valentine (not by Prang), 8.75 x 6 inches, with light creasing at the top. All sizes are approximate, and except for the Valentine, all are square or rectangular. One of the large Christmas cards has
a light dusting of white glitter.

Also included are nine loose scrapbook pages, with ten articles about cards affixed, one dated from the 1930s, the other looking a bit later. There are six loose articles, and seven pages of handwritten notes, some excerpted from "Riding a Christmas Hobby" by Mary D. Hudgins.

22 of the cards are by Prang, and some are late 1870's; most that are dated are 1880's. Prang introduced chromolithographed Christmas cards to the American marketplace in 1874. Prang was a master lithographer and his Christmas cards were wildly popular through the 1890's. Offered at $450.00. Contact us for ordering details.

A sale at our sister store on Beacon Street

2008-12-02T09:34:00.000-05:00

It's December, and it's time for our December Sale at the Boston Book Annex, 906 Beacon Street, in Boston. Starting Monday, Dec. 1st, through New Year's Eve, Dec. 31st, all of the following sections will be 20% off:

Art, Architecture & Photography
Cookbooks
US History
Political Science
Music
Our Collectibles Sections (specifically marked throughout the store)
Biography
Literary Criticism
Foreign Language
Nature & Gardening
Film

As an extra incentive, during the same period, we will be extending an additional 10% when you buy more than $100 in books.

Unfortunately, no holds during the sale, or dealer discounts on sale books.

Please note, this sale is only in effect at the Book Annex, not at our Jamaica Plain shop.

We would be happy to see you at either location, and to assist you in finding the perfect literary gift for the holidays. Happy December!

No holiday carols yet, we promise

2008-11-18T14:16:00.001-05:00

Thanks to all who stopped by the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair. We are back in the shop and unpacking the trunks. It's always good to see new people at the booth - thanks for coming! If you missed the fair but would like to know more about what we brought, please email us.

We will be closing early at both locations on Wednesday, November 26th (please call ahead if you're thinking of visiting), and both shops will be closed on November 27th, Thanksgiving Day. Best wishes to all for a happy holiday.

Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, Nov. 14-16

2008-11-11T15:07:00.000-05:00

We will be exhibiting as usual at the 32nd Annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, Friday November 14th - Sunday November 16th, at the Hynes Convention Center. See www.bostonbookfair.com for details. Please stop by and visit us at booth no. 125 - we will be bringing a selection of Japanese woodblock print books, 20th century Japanese commercial art publications, photography, children's books, first editions, early feminist material, fine antiquarian books (many bound in vellum), and more. The shop will be open normal hours, 9 am - 5 pm through Saturday.

They Also Ran (1943)

2008-11-04T14:21:00.000-05:00

It's Election Day, and for you historians we are offering a first edition of Irving Stone's 1943 American political history THEY ALSO RAN:

STONE, Irving. THEY ALSO RAN. The Story of the Men Who were Defeated for the Presidency. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., 1943. First edition. 8vo., green cloth. Near fine, in an edgeworn, slightly soiled and price-clipped color illustrated dust jacket. The reverse of the dust jacket features a black and white cartoon chart: "Turn this jacket over and see how Irving Stone evaluates the candidates." Offered at $75.00.

We also have a Presidents section in the shop, presently featuring books and sets on John Quincy Adams, Hoover, Lincoln, Madison, Nixon, Washington, Wilson, and Jackson; you can also search our site here and use the keywords AMERICANA or AMER HISTORY.

See you at the polls - remember to VOTE!

Haunting Tales and Spine Tingling Accounts

2008-10-14T10:34:00.000-04:00

Halloween is coming - how about some ghostly Victoriana? We are pleased to offer:

STEAD, W. T., ed. REAL GHOST STORIES: A RECORD OF AUTHENTIC APPARITIONS. BEING THE CHRISTMAS NUMBER OF THE REVIEW OF REVIEWS together with MORE GHOST STORIES: A SEQUEL TO "REAL GHOST STORIES. BEING A NEW YEAR'S EXTRA NUMBER OF THE REVIEW OF REVIEWS (2 volumes). London and New York: The Review of Reviews, 1892. First editions, later reprinted. 4to., pictorial printed wrappers. Good, rear wrapper detached from REAL GHOST STORIES, spine slightly chipped. Occasional light foxing. Illustrated in b/w. MORE GHOST STORIES: loose binding, staples removed, covers intact but splitting at front joint. Complete. Light foxing. Spiritualism, haunted houses in England, ghostly apparitions, premonitions, more paranormal phenomena. Highly collectible and very interesting gathering of stories. With warning to readers: not for the timid!! More images here. Offered at $650.00 #82077

See us in Seattle October 11-12

2008-10-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

We're getting ready for the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair and Book Arts Show 2008, October 11 and 12, at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Here's a link to the Fair: http://www.seattlebookfair.com/.
Please stop by and say hello if you're in the area. We are bringing a selection of Americana, children's literature, classics, women's studies books and ephemera, Japanese woodblock print books and more. You can see our other upcoming book fair events here.

Catalogue 38A Japan and Asia online

2008-10-01T11:05:00.000-04:00

Friends,

We are pleased to announce our new catalogue 38A, Japan and Asia, featuring 147 items. The catalogue is now online and can be viewed at http://www.rarebook.com/cat38/cat38ad.html. We look forward to any questions or comments. Contact us directly to order or inquire.

Local and New England histories

2008-09-27T14:58:00.000-04:00

We have just acquired a number of 19th and 20th century local Massachusetts and New England histories. Featured above: GREENE, George Washington. A SHORT HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. Providence: J. A. & R. A. Reid, 1877. First edition. xxvi + [2] + 356 pp. + 1 pp. publisher's advertisements. 8vo., brown cloth stamped in gilt, black and blind. Moderate shelfwear, corners bumped. Spine slightly frayed at heel and crown. Faint pencil to front flyleaf (coated brown endpapers). Tissue guard removed from frontispiece; title page partially detached at bottom edge. Interior clean and tight. Author's note (correction) tipped in after p. 287. B/w map in excellent condition. Very good. Offered at $250.00.

Also new in the shop: 19th century Massachusetts town histories of Boston, Essex, Lynnfield, Woburn, Lowell, Beverly, Medford, Dedham, Manchester, and Plymouth; Eastport, Maine; Warren, New Hampshire; New York City; and state histories of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, to name a few. For more information, email us, or stop by to see the selection.

Architectural Cannibalism in Rome, 1744

2008-09-18T13:03:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to offer the following, from a collection of vellum bound books (16th-18th centuries) which we have just acquired:

MARANGONI, Giovanni. DELLE COSE GENTILESCHI E PROFANE trasportate ad Uso, e Adornamento delle Chiese. [Of things pagan and secular for the use and decoration of churches]. Rome, Niccolo e Marco Pagliarini, 1744. Quarto. xx, 519pp. First edition. A study of the uses of ancient Roman architectural elements in the building of Christian churches. Tombstones, columns, altars, moldings etc. were often re-used in the walls and interiors. Marangoni was a pioneer in the cataloguing of these "spolia." With many typographical and woodcut depictions of inscriptions, one copper engraving and one large folding plate. Internally immaculate in vellum boards. 1/4
inch nicks to hinge ends, else fine. Offered at $850.00.

Watch our website for a list of these vellum bound books, coming soon; or inquire via email.

Back to School: Education in America

2008-08-29T10:03:00.000-04:00

Labor Day weekend is here, school is nearly back in session, and we are featuring a few of our titles relating to the history of education. The book pictured above is the first American book on pedagogy: Samuel R. Hall's LECTURES ON SCHOOL-KEEPING. Boston: Richardson, Lord and Holbrook, 1829. First edition. xi + 135 pp. + 10 pp. publisher's advertisements. 8vo., quarter cloth with (remnant of) paper spine label and green paper-covered boards, uncut and partially unopened,in custom slipcase with inner chemise. Faint dampstaining to covers with the bottom corner of the first part of the text somewhat affected. Moderate wear, light to moderate foxing throughout. Thirteen lectures, with questions to consider for each. The nature of teaching; children and their behavior; emulation vs. ambition; government of students; appropriate material; more. A scarce and uncommon book, offered at $1,500.00. #80234

We also have books on the histories of Yale, Harvard, Smith, Phillips Academy Andover, Roxbury Latin School, Vassar yearbooks (including one featuring Edna St. Vincent Millay), a Tufts 19th Century photo album, Anna C. Brackett's THE EDUCATION OF AMERICAN GIRLS (1874), 19th century readers, textbooks, elocution and geography texts, and a bound run of the periodical THE RHODE ISLAND SCHOOLMASTER, 1861-1873. You can also visit our website's search page here, and enter the keyword EDUCATION for more material.

Our Beacon Street store, the Boston Book Annex, will be open Labor Day; our Jamaica Plain store will be closed. We wish everyone a wonderful holiday weekend.

1930's Shanghai, album of 111 original photographs

2008-08-15T14:50:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to offer a spectacular vernacular photo album, which we feel is quite special:

EXTRAORDINARY DOCUMENTATION OF LOST ARCHITECTURE, TRADITIONS

[PHOTOGRAPHY - 20TH CENTURY]. ALBUM OF 111 ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS: SHANGHAI IN THE 1930S. (Photographer unknown) Gelatin silver prints mounted in black photo corners. 111 original photographs, a vernacular album of Shanghai in the mid-thirties. The quality and condition of the photographs are excellent. Although the images range in size from 1 7/8 x 2 3/8 to 5 1/2 x 3 1/8 inches, they contain a world of information: vanished skylines, Deco architecture; people at work, at leisure and with family; temple interiors; waterways and canals; rice fields and farming equipment; and in general, the steady hand and curious mind of the unknown
photographer, who in capturing these moments, would often engage his or her subjects, eliciting smiles and curious glances.

There is evidence of the colonial perspective in some of the neatly hand-lettered captions. While the majority of the images are well-composed and technically very good, there are a surprising number of truly superior photographs which wholly capture the feel, bustle, sights and traditions of 1930s Shanghai. #84101 SOLD

We are preparing an electronic catalogue of photography and photographic literature for early next year. To request email notification of the release, please contact us at photographica@rarebook.com.

Japanese Commercial Art: 24 volumes

2008-08-12T12:16:00.000-04:00

We have just been cataloging our new acquisitions from Japan. This will be of special interest to those who appreciate Japanese commercial design:

[COMMERCIAL ART] GENDAI SHÔGYÔ BIJUTSU ZENSHÛ THE COMPLETE COMMERCIAL ARTIST 24 volumes. Tokyo, ARS, Shôwa 3 [1928] 24 large slender 8vo. vols., this edition bound in red cloth, gilt, with bi-lingual titling. A remarkable compendium, heavily illustrated in color and b+w, exploring the whole world of commercial art, in Japan and abroad, for the professional. With remarkable articles by the leading proponents of Japanese advertising and commercial art of the day. One occasionally finds odd volumes of this thematically organized work, but it is very unusual thus, complete. Essential reference to late Taishô, early Shôwa culture. Complete, very good. SOLD.

We will be issuing an new Japanese and East Asian catalogue near the end of the year. To receive notification of the publication of the electronic version, please contact us at eacatalogue@rarebook.com with your email address.

New children's collectible books

2008-07-31T15:16:00.000-04:00

We've just acquired some new children's books, including some Raggedy Ann titles from the late twenties and early thirties, and Palmer Cox's The Brownies at Home, 1893, a fantastic copy in the rare dust jacket, $1,250.00, above. We've got a set of nine vintage Harold Gray Little Orphan Annie titles; Arthur Rackham illustrated fairy tales; Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales illustrated by Milo Winter; and more. Don't hesitate to visit our website search page, here, and enter CHILDREN'S as the keyword to browse our selection.

Antique Maps and Prints

2008-07-19T11:26:00.000-04:00

Hoefnagel's Cadiz, 1564
Here are a few samples of our antique maps - the first being a Hoefnagel from 1564:

(HOEFNAGEL, Joris). GADES AB OCCIDUIS INSULAE PARTIBUS. Double-page folio view of Cadiz, Spain, signed Georg Hoefnagel, 1564. From Volume V, no. 5. of CIVITATES ORBIS TERRARUM, Cologne, Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg (1572-98). Hand-colored. 14 1/2 by 19 1/2 inches. Light toning and wrinkling to margin; smudges to key panel and central fold, still a very good print. Of the artists involved in the Civitates, Hoefnagel was the most well-known, as calligrapher, painter, miniaturist and cartographer. A monk, a pilgrim, and fishermen are in the foreground of this peninsular city. Two vignettes show a fortress firing upon ships, and sailors gambling on the shore neared moored galleys. A leopard from the Indies and a toucan from Peru indicate Cadiz' foreign trade. (Koeman, Atlantes Neerlandici p.22). Offered at $750.00

Ortelius, Geographia Sacra, 1598.
ORTELIUS, Abraham. GEOGRAPHIA SACRA. Map of Europe, North Africa, Arabia, and Western Asia. (Antwerp) 1598. 17 1/2 by 21 1/2 in. (plate 13 3/4 by 18 3/4). Beautifully engraved, probably by Franz Hogenburg, and hand-colored. With insert miniature map of the world. A fine, clean copy, with only light toning to margin outside plate, and to center fold. Offered at $1,250.00

De Hooghe, Jerusalem, 1687
ETCHED BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF JERUSALEM
DE HOOGHE, Romeyn. JERUSALEM EN SYN TEMPEL. Netherlands, 1687. 15 by 21 1/2 inches. A splendid two-page spread showing an aerial reconstruction of ancient Jerusalem, with the Temple in the center. 35 ancient buildings, monuments and Biblical locations are labeled. The lower register shows the Temple's treasures in detail: the "Copper Sea," the Altar of Sacrifice, the Candelabra, the Ark of the Covenant, etc. In the foreground is Gethsemane, with the Betrayal of Christ. De Hooghe (1645-1708), a nephew of the painter Pieter de Hooch, was one of the finest of the Dutch seventeenth-century engravers. Central fold reinforced, with a one-inch repair at the foot, else fine. Text in Dutch on reverse. Offered at $325.00

Finley's New American Atlas, 1826 (Missouri & Arkansas Territory)
From Finley's New American Atlas, published in 1826, a double-folio sized hand-colored map of Missouri and Arkansas Territory, offered at $1,100.00

We have other maps from Finley's atlas, as well as bound atlases, local New England maps, and a variety of prints and etchings including our Japanese woodblock prints and woodblock print books.

Japanese photography books

2008-07-09T10:34:00.000-04:00

With the current market strong for photo illustrated books, we thought it might be a good time to draw attention to our selection of modern Japanese photography monographs. Many of our books are signed by the photographer; all are in very good to fine condition.

Featured here is an oversize Moriyama Daidô monograph, Daidô hysteric no. 6 1994, published in 1993 by Hysteric Glamour. This limited edition features over 360 full page (many double-page) b/w images of Daidô's Japan - dark, grainy and ominous. Very good condition with only some moderate wear to cover. Offered at $975.00.

Also among our cache are books by:
Hosoe Eikoh: Eikoh Hosoe (Aperture Masters of Photography), signed, fine, $160.00
Kurihara Tatsuo: Okiri o Hibi no Kate ni Gakusei Tôsô no Kiroku, very good, $150.00
Moriyama Daidô: Imitation, signed, near fine, $685.00
Naitô Tadayuki: Sakura-cosm, signed, fine, $175.00
Naraki Itsuro: The Dancers, signed, fine, $250.00
Naraki Itsuro: Nomads, fine, $175.00
Tanaka Ichirô: Shashin Nichijô 1935-1990, signed, fine, $175.00

You can search our stock of Japanese photo monographs by visiting our website's search page and entering the keywords EA PHOTOGRAPHY in the keywords field. We also buy similar monographs, especially if signed, in very good or better condition.

Daidô hysteric no. 6 1994

Washington's Diaries and other histories, biographies

2008-06-26T13:26:00.000-04:00

It's almost the Fourth of July, and we are offering a selection of books relating to early American history. Featured above in the picture is a set of The Diaries of George Washington 1748-1799, edited by John C. Fitzpatrick. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, 1925. Second printing. var pp. 8vo., blue cloth stamped in gilt. Minor shelfwear to heels of spines, faint white stain to Vol. III's spine, interiors excellent with no markings. B/w gravure frontispiece plates. A lovely set. Offered at $375.00 plus shipping.

In addition to our shop section on U.S. Presidents, we have a large selection of Americana; go to our search page and type in AMERICANA as the keyword and you can browse away. We carry a selection of the Lakeside Press Americana series, and books about New England, Western, and Native American history. Contact us if you can't find what you're looking for - we'll be happy to help.

Seeking photographica

2008-06-18T13:56:00.001-04:00

Visitors to the store may have noticed our interest in things relating to photography. In the front room of the shop, we have an 1878 albumen print panoramic triptych of the town of Enfield, Massachusetts, which was razed and flooded (circa 1940) to create the Quabbin Reservoir. In our back room, we have a hulking Kodak Century Master Studio camera (currently without a lens) on an original stand. With our northern window light, perhaps we should make some adaptations to the camera and start making portraits ...

We are always looking for early (19th century) vernacular photograph albums, early photo-illustrated books, and historically interesting photographs (including daguerreotypes, calotypes, Woodburytypes, albumen prints and gelatin silver prints). If you have any of the above to sell, or have questions about appraisals, please contact us at photo@rarebook.com. We'd be glad to look at what you have. If you are outside of the area, you can send some digital photos of the material to the same email address. And, please let us know if you are looking for collectible photographs or photographic literature.

Ideas for Father's Day

2008-06-11T13:33:00.000-04:00

Father's Day is fast approaching and we have some ideas for gifts for your pop here in the shop.

Pictured above is a limited edition Nonesuch Press leather set of Montaigne's Essays, originally translated into English by John Florio in 1632 (the third edition). This is a handsome set and would be a fine addition to any father's bookshelf; it is beautifully printed, and has a nice heft to it. The essays include "On the Affection of Fathers to their Children," "Of Bookes," "Of Glory," "Of the Worthiest and Most Excellent Men," "Of Friendship," "By Divers Meanes Men Come to a Like End," "Of Solitarinesse," and a multitude of others, rendered in Florio's elegant English.

We also have several nice gift editions of Henry David Thoreau's Walden; an oversize Limited Editions Club issue of Walton's The Compleat Angler with engravings by Douglas W. Gorsline; sets of Shakespeare, Byron, Pepys, The Spectator, and the Legal papers of John Adams; nineteenth century Japanese wood block print books; contact us and we'll help you choose. And don't forget to visit the Boston Book Annex for more. Please note - only the Annex on Beacon Street is open on Sunday (from noon to 8 pm). We will reopen in Jamaica Plain on Monday at 9. Happy Father's Day!

June 5-7 in London: Boston Book Company at the Antiquarian Book Fair

2008-05-29T15:13:00.000-04:00

We've just acquired a few Louis Wain Annuals from the early 20th century; his anthropomorphic cats are sometimes a bit disturbing (see image). Not for feliphobes. Go to http://www. rarebook.com and search for Louis Wain as the author, and you'll see our selections. This image is from the set of four bound Annuals, our book no. 84428.

So here it is, nearly June, and we're getting ready for the ABA London Antiquarian Book Fair. Boxes and trunks are on their way, and soon we'll be set up in our booth, ready to sell! Here's a link to the Fair: http://www.olympiabookfair.com.
Please stop by and say hello if you're in the area. We are bringing a selection of Americana, Japanese woodblock print books, literature, William England and vernacular (Shanghai in the 1930's) photograph albums, and more.

Boston Book Company welcomes you

2008-05-24T10:21:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our newsletter! As time permits, we'll try to update the blog every week, with news, recent acquisitions, book fair information and more. Comments always welcome.

Don't forget to visit us online at www.rarebook.com.

Boston Book Company