Rare Book Monthly

Articles - September - 2024 Issue

An Early Heads Up For Collectors and Dealers who would like to display

The 2024 Northampton Antiquarian Book, Ephemera, and Book Arts Fair, the eighth edition, will be Friday, November 22nd from 5 – 8pm and Saturday, November 23rd from 10am to 4pm in the Northampton Center for the Arts at the Northampton Community Arts Trust at 33 Hawley Street in Northampton, Massachusetts, 01060.

 

More than 30 rare booksellers, paper Americana specialists, and book artists, including hand bookbinders, papermakers, & fine letterpress printers from New England and the mid - Atlantic states will convene to exhibit, sell, and schmooze at the popular two-day fair.  At this time, there are a handful of exhibitor spaces available, ranging from single six-foot tables to the traditional U-shaped booth. Contact fair director Mark Brumberg, of Book Fair Promotion, through www.northamptonbookfair.com , for a space reservation and fair contract.

 

Northampton is located in the Connecticut River Valley of Western Massachusetts, about an hour north of Hartford, CT, two hours west of Boston, and three and a half hours northeast of New York City. Northampton has been called Paradise City, as it repeatedly has been voted one of the best small arts cities and one of the best places to live in the country. Visitors will find a variety of small, independently owned new bookshops, rare booksellers, book artist studios, fine restaurants & cafes, craft shops, art galleries, and music venues in downtown and the surrounding region.

 

The Northampton Book Fair is sponsored by SNEAB, Southern New England Antiquarian Booksellers and the Northampton Center for the Arts. Media sponsor is New England Public Media and the NEPM Book Club.

 

Fair attendees will find a variety of books and ephemera ranging from rare travel books to literary first editions, paper Americana to historic account books and manuscripts, fine letter press printing to  fine letter press poetry books, mystery & science fiction to rare travel books, first editions, and signed books. Also featured will be handmade journals, handmade paper, fine bindings, artist books, limited edition wood engravings, and early printed books.  A wide variety of collectible books, priced under $100, will be available for sale.

 

The 2024 Northampton Book Fair will draw buyers, collectors, librarians, ephemera specialists, booksellers, and tourists  from throughout the region to browse and purchase from a diverse set of exhibitors, including:

 

Leslie Arthur, Second Wind Books, English & American 20th century firsts by, for, and about women; speculative & science fiction; & film-related ephemera (New Haven, CT)

Stefan Baer, Complete Traveller, rare travel books, WPA Guides, A&C Black, Baedekers (Westport, CT)

Karen Bullock, Old Working Books & Bindery, rare book restoration, hand bound blank note books, unique note cards from salvage book illustrations. (West Brookfield, MA)

Jay Cordeiro, Northeast Natural History & Supply, natural history and geography books (West Dennis, MA)

Greg Gibson, Ten Pound Island Book Co., ABAA, maritime rare books, manuscripts, &ephemera (Gloucester, MA)

William Hutchison, eclectic mix of antiquarian books in a wide variety of fields, including Americana (Mendenhall, PA)

Ben Koenig, The Country Bookshop, unusual books & ephemera including folk music and folklore (Plainfield, VT)

Tara Law, of Tara Law Design, artist books – etching, letterpress, screen printing, aquatint, and laser cut; written by artist/writer Tara Law (Marshfield, MA)

Peter Luke Americana, 18th, 19th, and early 20th century Americana (New Baltimore, NY)

Joel Levin, Dewey Decimals, vintage, old & rare books, a selection of books from the libraries of Madeleine L’Engle, Edward Herrmann, & Barry Moser (Northampton, MA)

Michael and Earl Manz, Yesterday’s Gallery & Babylon Revisited, ABAA, jazz age and depression era literature (East Woodstock, CT & Northampton, MA)

Peter L. Masi, books & ephemera (Montague,MA),

Joseph Phillips, Commonwealth Books, ABAA,  varied selection of vintage & antiquarian books (Boston, MA and Newport, RI)

Ed Rayher, Swamp Press/Slate Roof Press, designer and printer of fine letterpress poetry books, creates & casts new faces and ornaments in hot metal (Northfield, MA)

Jacob Romm, Letter and Spirit Press, letterpress prints, broadsides, chapbooks, stationary & ephemera (New Haven, CT)

John R. Sanderson, Rare Books, rare, early & fine books in diverse fields (Stockbridge, MA)

Richard Stephens, Supersession Press, unique and limited edition fine press books (Saint Louis Park, Minnesota)

Peter L. Stern & Co, Inc., literature, first editions, mysteries (Newtown, MA)

Richard Turnbull, Furious Day Press, artists’ book and prints (Leeds, MA)

William Turomsha, Omega Fine Art, Leonard Baskin and Barry Moser wood engravings, lithographs, & books (Northampton, MA)

Scott Vile, The Ascensius Press, prints & publishers letterpress editions (Bar Mills, ME)

 

For a roster of vendors from our last fair: www.northamptonbookfair.com/2022-exhibitors

 

Event Details

Friday, November 22nd, 5pm -8 pm
Saturday, November 23rd, 10am - 4pm

 

Advance tickets are available now or can be purchased at the door.  For a limited time, half-price (two-for-one) admissions, are offered at the “buy tickets” link at: northamptonbookfair.com

 

The venue is a universally accessible building with plenty of free on-site parking.

 

Northampton Community Arts Trust

33 Hawley Street

Northampton , MA 01060

United States

 

General Admission is $8. Students and Children Free.

When buying a ticket, please consider making a donation to Forbes Library, Northampton’s Public Library. Round up to $10 to benefit the city’s library.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    27th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 27: Dürer (Albrecht) Hierin sind begriffen vier bücher von menschlicher Proportion, 4 parts in 1, first edition, Nuremberg, Hieronymus Andreae for Agnes Dürer, 1528. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, illuminated manuscript in Latin, on vellum, 26 fine hand-painted miniatures, 17th century dark brown morocco, [Lyon], [c. 1475 and later c. 1490-1500]. £25,000 to £35,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Brontë (Emily) The North Wind, watercolour, [1842]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Titanic.- Mudd (Thomas Cupper, one of the youngest victims of the sinking of the Titanic, 1895-1912) Autograph Letter signed on board RMS Titanic to his mother, April 11th 1912. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    27th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 27: [Austen (Jane)] Emma: A Novel, 3 vol., first edition, for John Murray, 1816. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Picasso (Pablo).- Ovid. Les Metamorphoses, one of 95 copies, signed by the artist, Lausanne, Albert Skira, 1931. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: America.- Ogilby (John) America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the New World..., all maps with vibrant hand-colouring in outline, probably by an early hand, 1671. £15,000 to £25,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Iceland.- Geological exploration.- Bright (Dr. Richard )and Edward Bird. Collection of twenty original drawings from travels in Iceland with Henry Holland and George Mackenzie, watercolours, [1810]. £20,000 to £30,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    The Library of Barry Humphries
    26th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 26: Beckford (William) [Vathek] An Arabian Tale, first (but unauthorised) edition, Lady Caroline Lamb's copy with her signature and notes, 1786. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Baudelaire (Charles) Les Fleurs du Mal, first edition containing the 6 suppressed poems, first issue, contemporary half black morocco, Paris, 1857. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Beardsley (Aubrey).- Pope (Alexander) The Rape of the Lock, one of 25 copies on Japanese vellum, Leonard Smithers, 1896. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Douglas (Lord Alfred) Sonnets, first edition, the dedication copy, with signed presentation inscription from the author to his wife Olive Custance, The Academy, 1909. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum Auctions
    The Library of Barry Humphries
    26th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 26: Crowley (Aleister) The Works..., 3 vol. in 1 (as issued)"Essay Competition" issue on India paper, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1905-07. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Rodin (Auguste).- Mirbeau (Octave) Le Jardin des Supplices, one of 30 copies on chine with an additional suite, bound in dark purple goatskin, Paris, 1902. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Pellar (Hans) Eight original book illustrations for 'Der verliebte Flamingo' [together with] a published copy of the first edition of the book, 1923. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Cretté (Georges, binder).- Louÿs (Pierre) Les Aventures du Roi Pausole, 2 vol., one of 99 copies, with 2 original drawings, superbly bound in blue goatskin, gilt, Paris, 1930. £3,000 to £4,000.
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Swann
    Printed & Manuscript African Americana
    March 20, 2025
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 7: Thomas Fisher, The Negro's Memorial or Abolitionist's Catechism, London, 1825. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 78: Victor H. Green, The Negro Travelers' Green Book, New York, 1958. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 99: Rosa Parks, Hand-written recollection of her first meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., autograph manuscript, Detroit, c. 1990s. $30,000 to $40,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 154: Frederick Douglass, Autograph statement on voting rights, signed manuscript, 1866. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 164: W.E.B. Du Bois, What the Negro Has Done for the United States and Texas, Washington, circa 1936. $3,000 to $4,000.
    Swann
    Printed & Manuscript African Americana
    March 20, 2025
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 263: Susan Paul, Memoir of James Jackson, Boston, 1835. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 267: Langston Hughes, Gypsy Ballads, signed translation of García Lorca's poetry, Madrid, 1937. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 274: Malcolm X, Collection from Alex Haley's estate, 38 items, 1963-1971. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 367: Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave, Auburn, NY, 1853. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 402: Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South, Xenia, OH, 1892. $2,000 to $3,000.
  • Koller, Mar. 26: Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: Merian, Maria Sibylla. Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumennahrung. Nürnberg, 1679; Frankfurt a. M. und Leipzig, 1683. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON. Faust. Ein Fragment. Von Goethe. Ächte Ausgabe. Leipzig, G. J. Göschen, 1790. CHF 7,000 to 10,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
    Koller, Mar. 26: BIBLIA GERMANICA - Neunte deutsche Bibel. Nürnberg, A. Koberger, 17. Feb. 1483. CHF 40,000 to 60,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: HORAE B.M.V. - Stundenbuch. Lateinische Handschrift auf Pergament, Kalendarium französisch. Nordfrankreich (Rouen?). CHF 25,000 to 40,000

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