Americana, American history sale continues

We're half way through the month. That means there are only a couple of weeks to go in our Americana and American History sale – 40% off books under $100 and 20% off books $100 or more. And don't forget the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair coming up next weekend, April 21-23. See you soon!

We're in the Tampa Bay Times this weekend

SCOTT KEELER | Times (2014)

We're humbled and honored to be featured in Piper Castillo's Nightstand column in the Tampa Bay Times this Sunday. Thank you, Piper, Thank you, Colette Bancroft, Times Book Editor. Thank you, Tampa Bay Times.

The column was part of Tampa Bay Times coverage of the SunLit Festival, which runs March 4-13. This is the second year for the springtime celebration of literature, and oh, my, how it has grown! Last year there were 14 events over ten days. This year there are 46 events in the same time period. We're grateful for the coverage the Tampa Bay Times is devoting to this endeavor that is made possible by the efforts of so many people and organizations in town dedicated to the written word. The Times' stories come out on Sunday but they're available online at the links above.

It is gratifying to see the attention being paid to the books, writing and reading during this time. The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair is now in its 34th year in the Tampa Bay area, and it's a pleasure to see the development of SunLit Festival. We're happy to be a part of it. When the book fair began, we held it at the University of Tampa in what once was railroad mogul Henry Plant's opulent Tampa Bay Hotel. It was a beautiful location but we've long since outgrown it. For many years now, we've been in The Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg. It is a superb location for an antiquarian book fair.

We want to thank John Collins at the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, who has helped tremendously to facilitate the growth of the SunLit Festival, as well as other dedicated individuals such as Randi Hillesø at the Arts Alliance and Maureen McDole of Keep St. Pete Lit, who have worked so tirelessly to expand the vision.

We're' looking forward to a fun-filled SunLit Festival and Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

Our Rare Book Cafe: aviation and old maps

We got a laugh as we showed an 1830s map of Florida showing Mosquito County.

We had a grand time on Rare Book Cafe, the new Internet program devoted to antiquarian books. We were on Wednesday afternoon with our friends Steven Eisenstein and Thorne  Donnelley, who serve as co-hosts for the program, which is sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

Steven is the owner of A-Book-A-Brac Shop in Miami Beach and Thorne owns Liberty Books in West Palm Beach. Both are exhibitors each year at the Florida Antiqurian Book Fair, and both generously volunteer their time to make Rare Book Cafe happen twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We appreciate that.

The program, which you can watch if you follow this link, give us an opportunity to show some of the amazing items in a huge collection of aviation books we acquired awhile back. There are some truly outstanding pieces in the collection that will be of tremendous interest to fans of anything having to do with flying. Among the items we showed was a 1909 airplane catalog offering all the parts you would have needed to put together your very own flying machine. You could order the fabric, guy wires, and everything else needed for your Wright Brothers plane or several other makes.

There also was an instruction pamphlet for aerial combat during World War I. Pilots were instructed to tie themselves into their cockpits to afford them more confidence in looping aerial maneuvers, especially if the trick didn't result in vanquishing the enemy. At the top of each page, presumably to keep the objective squarely in front of each trainee, are the words TAKE DOWN THE HUN.

We mentioned some other items in the aviation collection but there are far too many to cover in one sitting. Maybe we'll have to revisit the subject later.

Another item we were pleased to share was a vintage Florida map that just came in. It's an extraordinary piece from the 1830s with which we should spend some more time. Everybody got a kick out of the designation of Mosquito County, which took up a big chunk of what is now Orange, Seminole, Osceola and some other counties in the Central Florida area. The area of the Keys, Miami, the Everglades, and point north were all part of Monroe County back then. Steven noted that there was no Miami Beach (where he lives) in those days.

Steven and Thorne shared stories, anecdotes, and items of interest as did Edie Eisenstein, Steven's wife, who has a large collection of miniature books.

Thank you to everyone for sharing your time, talent, and stories, and thank you for inviting us to participate. We'll see you again on Rare Book Cafe.

Rare Book Cafe: A program for book lovers

We participated in an interesting project on Wednesday – the live broadcast of a conversation between book dealers in different parts of Florida on a new program called Rare Book Cafe. Although we had a formidable task before us – packing for the Brooklyn Books Art Photos and Design Expo on September 19-20 – this little interlude on Wednesday afternoon was kind of fun, and a welcome respite.

The project is sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, and is intended to serve as an online meeting place for people in the rare book trade and people who can't get enough of antiquarian books, who thrive on absorbing as much information as possible about them. You know who you are.

There were some technical difficulties, of course. This new live streaming platform called Blab is still in beta, which means the folks who created it have a working model up and running but it still has quirks. Be that as it may, it was a delight to participate in conversation with Steven Eisenstein in Miami Beach and Thorne Donnelley in West Palm Beach. There were watchers as well, though none of them jumped into the available fourth chair. Apparently they only wanted to hear us swap stories, which we did.

Live streaming has been around for a long time (think video teleconferencing). What's different now is that this is free and accessible to people without a lot of special equipment, and it has a built-in mechanism for viewers to participate by sending text messages. To take part in the discussion or even just to watch and listen, all you need is a desktop computer and a decent wifi connection. Blab works on a Google Chrome browser or a Firefox browser. (That was one of the technical difficulties we had. We at first tried to log on with a Safari browser.) The Blab account and the Twitter account are both free, too, and take only a few minutes to set up.

What's intriguing about all this is the possibilities for connecting not only with book dealers around the world (assuming some of them want to stay up late to talk to us) but also with book lovers everywhere. Never before has such a possibility been so accessible to so many people.

This is an ongoing project. Rare Book Cafe will be on the air at least on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. EDT and Saturdays at 2:30 EDT. Also, Florida Antiquarian Book Fair is posting recorded episodes on  the blog. It is an exciting time we live in. The irony of using a 21st century mechanism to bring together people who perpetually live in the 16th and 17th centuries is just too delicious.

Like Willie, we're on the road again

That old Willie Nelson song came to mind as we were getting ready to head out on the highway for some book fair adventure. First stop will be Baltimore, for the annual Baltimore Summer Antiques Show, the largest antiques show in the country.

It is a prestigious event that draws top antiques dealers from around the world. You've probably seen some of them on Antiques Roadshow. The show we're going to features high-end jewelry dealers showcasing both vintage and estate heirloom treasures. 

The four-day show also features an Antiquarian Book Fair, showcasing rare books, first editions, autographs, fine manuscripts, prints, and unusual biographical material. The dealers offer a diverse array of material appealing to all levels of experience – something for every type of collector.

Many of our friends and fellow booksellers who exhibit at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in March also participate in this show. Among them, we expect to see A. Parker's Books, B&B Rare Books, Colebrook Book Barn, First Folio, and Four Winds Fine Books. We look forward to seeing them at this show.

The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show is August 20-23 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Click the link for more details.  If you're going to be in Baltimore and would like to go to the show free, we've got tickets. Stop by the store and we'll give you a card (like the one in the picture) you can use at the show to get a one-day ticket for two. Pretty nifty, huh! Hey, it pays to know the right people! You can also buy them online. They're 20 bucks each.

Our next stop will be the 2015 Georgia Book and Paper Fair on September 5-6 at the First Baptist Church in Decatur. That's a fun show for us, too. Even more of our dealer friends show up for that fair. In fact, it's a little known fact that the Georgia Antiquarian Booksellers Association holds a meeting during the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in March. Collectors come to that show looking for rare and collectible books, first editions, leather bindings, ephemera, and antique maps. As you might expect, there is lots of Southern history, African-American literature, regional works, Americana, fiction, Civil War and children's books. Lots from which to choose.

Then, at the end of September, we'll hit the road again for the Brooklyn Books, Art, Photos, and Design Expo. Everyone will be in Brooklyn September 19-20. More about all of that later.

Meantime, we've got that Willie Nelson song going round and round in our minds. Now you do, too. 

You can buy tickets online for the book fair

As most of our regular readers know, we delight in participating in the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair every year. The book fair is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 13-15 this year. This is a public service announcement to let you know you can buy tickets online for the event. They're available now so if you want to get them in advance you can. This blog post will move on and be replaced by other posts eventually so the link in the column on the left also takes you to Eventbrite where the online ticket are available. If you're interested in keeping up with the lastest news about the book fair, click the link and you'll be taken to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair blog. Just a few reminders about the book fair. It'll be here before you know it.

See you at the Tennessee book fair

We’re off to the Tennessee Antiquarian Book Fair, which is held each July on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee. This is one of our favorite shows all year. The weather is usually nice and the old university and town of Sewanee are delightful.

 The show isn’t huge but enthusiastic book collectors come from a wide area, and we’ll see book dealer friends, many of whom are regulars at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in March. Among them will be our friends Cliff Graubart of Old New York Bookshop, ABAA, in Georgia. It’s always great to see him. Also from Georgia will be our friends Kenneth Mallory, Jim Strawn of Smythe, Books, LLC, ABAA, Bob and Lee Linn of The Ridge Books, Larry Wandling of Old South Books, Josh Niesse and Megan Bell from Underground Books, and Thomas Dorn from Canton. Quite a contingent from Georgia.

Of course, Mike Cotter and Greg Snider of Yeoman’s in the Fork, just a stone’s throw away in Franklin, Tennessee, will also be there, as will Billy Arant of Chattanooga, Dennis Melhouse of First Folio, ABAA, in Paris, Tennessee, and Ben Earnest of Owlsnest Books in Ooltewah. But this show wouldn’t be what it is today if it wasn’t for Tom McGee of The Book Brake in nearby Cowan. The Tennessee Antiquarian Book Fair started in Cowan, and in no small measure through the efforts of Tom McGee.

We’ll be taking Civil War books (they’re always popular that neck of the woods), children’s books, leather bound books, and literature of the South.

We know many Floridians who head for the mountains in the dog days of summer and we’re pretty sure that’s what we’re in right now. So if you’re in the area, we’d be happy to see you. Please do stop by. You’ll be glad you did. The show is Saturday, July 26 and Sunday, July 27. Here’s a link to the Tennessee Antiquarian Booksellers Association so you can get all the details.

Book Fair Treasures: Alice illustrated by Dalí

Okay, admittedly we're pretty excited about this item we're bringing to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. It's copy No. 250 of a limited edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, illustrated by Salvador Dalí on the frontispiece etching. It was published in New York by Maecenas Press/Random House in 1969. Only 2,500 copies were printed. This folio-sized book lives in a quarter leather and cloth portfolio with bone clasps. It has loose text with frontispiece and 12 plates separately housed in a cloth chemise, as issued. The whole in as new condition and accompanied by the original packing box. It is priced at $11,000. We've included pictures here so you can get an idea but we recommend that you come to the book fair to see it in person.

See you at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair

It's the weekend we've been anticipating for a long time. We'll be at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. More than 100 dealers from around the country will be available with collectible books, ephemera, vintage photographs, prints, out-of-prints books, rare books, and more. The Book Fair opens Friday evening at 5 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m. On Saturday, we'll be there from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m until 4 p.m. We hope you'll come out and see us at the Book Fair.

The demise of an old book shop

We were sad to learn that our friends at Bartleby's Books in the Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Georgetown, are closing the bricks-and-mortar store. The good news is that John Thomson and Karen Griffin aren't getting out of the antiquarian book business. The new permanent home for Bartleby's will be BartlebysBooks.com. The video above is from the Georgetown Patch Web site, which did an article on them. Read the story, too. Bartleby's is a regular fixture at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

Get a dollar off Book Fair admission

We'll be at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend. It starts Friday at 5:30 p.m. Hope to see you there. Print this coupon and present it at the window for one dollar off the admission price.

We love old-fashioned books

Of course we love them. What else would you expect?

Here is a tribute to the long and glorious history of the printed word. Long may it live. Kindles and iPads may be all the rage but there's nothing like reading a good book with good old-fashioned paper pages. This video was made for the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. We thought our book loving friends would enjoy it.

When publishers stop making traditional books (and they will eventually), the ones we love will be all the more valuable, won't they?

Friends tell us that though Kindles are certainly easy to read, the experience of reading a traditional book is far more satisfying.

Another thing they say: downloading a book to your electronic reader is a far less intriguing than poking around in a cluttered old bookstore and discovering a hidden treasure. That is a sentiment for which we are truly thankful.

If you love a good book, come to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. March 11-13, 2011 at The Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Theme music in the video is by Kevin MacLeod.

Home of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair

Thirty years ago the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association put on the first Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in the ballroom of the old Plant Hotel (University of Tampa). Fourteen years ago, having outgrown that venue and others, the book fair moved to The Coliseum in St. Petersburg. It has been there ever since and will be in March.

Not long ago we were reminiscing with Larry Kellogg, who ran the book fair for more than two decades, for a video that will be published on the new Florida Antiquarian Bookdealers Association blog. This is some of the video.

Antiquarian book fair began 30 years ago

Yes, that's Slicker in 1978. The photo ran in the Times.

Sarah the Archivist unearthed a clipping the other day that reminded us that the upcoming Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in March will be No. 30.

Whew! Three decades of bringing the best in antique, rare and collectible books together under one roof for Florida book lovers. It gives one pause, doesn't it? But, frankly, we're looking forward to the event. It'll be great to see old friends again.

The photo accompanied a 1978 article in the St. Petersburg Times by Charles Benbow on used bookstores in St. Petersburg at the time. It predates the beginning of the antiquarian book fair by a couple or three years. Charles Benbow was a writer at the Times for a couple of decades. He covered the arts mostly, but also wrote about television and architecture. For many, he was one of the favorite writers at the newspaper and well thought of in the arts community. He passed away in 2003.

The article contrasted the small, individually owned book stores like ours with the big chain-store operations. Benbow's sentiments clearly lay with us little guys. "What can compare with the pleasure of rediscovering your favorite old best-seller," wrote Benbow. "A dusty hardback of Anthony Adverse, Gone With the Wind, The Good Earth or Hawaii can cause a flood of nostalgia aboout the time and place they were first read."

Sadly, some of the establishments mentioned in the article have closed but we're still here and we're looking forward to the book fair in March.

Here's a list of the more than 100 dealers who will be at the antiquarian book fair. You also can send an e-mail to ask for more information about the book fair.

Before that, though, we have a lot of other shows we'll be attending. There are three in January alone: the Sunshine City Antique Show, the Pilot Club of Jacksonville Antiques Show and the Citrus County Book Festival in Dunnellon. More about all of those as we get closer to them.

Meantime, we're still looking through the Lighthouse Books, ABAA archives. No telling what else we'll find.