See you at the Pilot Club of Jacksonville Antiques and Vintage Show & Sale

We’ll be in Jacksonville this weekend for one of our favorite shows of the year — the Pilot Club of Jacksonville Antiques Show & Sale at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds Expo Center. We’ve done this show for many years and we’re always delighted to return. The show runs through Sunday.

Florida history and Southern writers are well received at this show, so we’ve got plenty of selections as well as leather-bound books, antique books, and beautiful antique maps. We have a huge selection of maps in our map room, which is also our children’s library and our Civil War library. (Our regular visitors know exactly what we’re talking about.) Anyway, if you love antique maps (as we do) you owe it to yourself to come in and see our collection.

One thing patrons of the Pilot Club show always anticipate is the delicious desserts offered every year. It’s a side attraction to the antique furnishings, paintings, and, of course, antique books and maps, but sometimes you’d think it was the main attraction. We’ve seen otherwise reasonable antiquers come through the doors and make a beeline for the dessert table before looking at anything else. Oh, well! Life’s short! Eat dessert first.

German chocolate cake is always a favorite and we’ve no reason to believe that this year will be any different.

The Pilot Club of Jacksonville was chartered in 1934. The name was inspired by the riverboat pilots of the day “who represented leadership and guidance, staying on a steady course.” After all these years, looks like the Pilot Club has lived up to that inspiration.

Dollars to donuts, this will be popular! (There's nothing here about donuts, though.)

We're launching something new for the new year. Well, it really isn't new at all. We've had Lighthouse Dollars for years. You might have some stuffed in your wallet or tucked away in a book as a book mark. The old ones were blue. The new ones are red. The old ones are still good. The new ones are shiny and new, and they're good, too. What's new besides the design is that we're going to try to remember to give them to you when you are checking out.

Here's how it works: When your purchase in our shop is $20 or more, you get one Lighthouse Dollar. If it's $40 or more, you get two. If it's $60 or more, you get three, and so on. (One for every $20 purchase.) You stuff them in your wallet or wherever you want to keep them and then bring them back for your next purchase. Your Lighthouse Dollars can be applied to your purchase.

It's like a rewards card, only without the card. You just get the rewards when you shop at Lighthouse Books, ABAA.

In the picture above, Mike is holding an enlarged version of one of the new red Lighthouse Dollars. Below is a copy of a sign similar to what we've put up in the store. You can see the new red Lighthouse Dollars and the old blue Lighthouse Dollars. And we're serious, if we don't tell you about Lighthouse Dollars, then ask us. You'll be dollars ahead if you do.

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mr. Fezziwig's Ball, Frontispiece, A Christmas Carol 1843

Nine years ago, Florida author and historian Les Standiford published a little book about a tiny slice of Charles Dickens' writing career. It wasn't a hefty biography, nor was it intended to be. It was merely the story of a writer whose career was starting to tank and his desperate attempt to revive it. That little book has gotten some more attention of late, as has Mr. Standiford himself, because of a movie, The Man Who Invented Christmas, which is based on the book and came out this season. Les Standiford heads the creative writing program at Florida International University and is on the faculty of the Writers in Paradise writing workshop at Eckerd College each January. Of course, we're happy for anything that draws attention once again to Charles Dickens and his works. At this festive time of year, we're delighted offer from our family to yours all the best of Christmas season.

For the final sale of the year, we're going back to the beginning of this quite remarkable year

And now we reach the final sale of our 40th year at Lighthouse Books, ABAA. It has been a magnificent year and we're so glad so many of our friends have come by to see us during this time. We're end the year as we started it  – with everything in the store on sale. We're glad to be able to bring this to you as a thank you for your support over the decades. So, come on in and browse. There's some special treasure waiting for you. And because it is the season of gift giving, we're certain you're going to find something perfect for the book lovers on your list. See you soon.